


Hard to Breathe

by sourwulfur



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: AU, Darkness, Fainting, M/M, Mental Instability, Multi, Nemeton, Other, Sleep Deprivation, Stanny - Freeform, WIP, Warnings and tags to be added, au season 3b, finding a light, finding an anchor, the whole darkness thing my way
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-05
Updated: 2014-09-11
Packaged: 2018-01-03 13:19:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 28,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1070915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sourwulfur/pseuds/sourwulfur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What with the Nemeton making things difficult for Stiles and the gang, a school project shoves Danny and Stiles into spending time together. That little push may be all it takes to start forming a bond as more than just classmates. Maybe Danny could be the one to help Stiles find a light in the dark where his friends are already succeeding.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I: Faint of Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Stannyyyyyyyy. I adore this pairing. It's my first time writing it, but a friend insisted. So, here it is. This is my take on the whole darkness thing, so don't expect it to be accurate or anything.

Sometimes, it felt like he was back in that tub of ice water, like his chest was on fire and there was water in his throat. He would scratch at the surface, try to dig his way out only to eventually sit up in his own bed with a deep, shaky gasp for air that rattled in his chest. He did not always remember what his nightmares were about, but there were always tears in his eyes when he stumbled to the bathroom to take a shower in an attempt to wash away all the evidence of what kind of night it had been. It was difficult to pretend like everything was okay when he'd walk into the school and everyone was carrying on like everything was the same, as if nothing had changed. It made Stiles want to scream. How could he feel _so_ different and everything around him stay the same?

 

He slowly made his way through the crowded halls of Beacon Hills high school, counting down the days until winter break (maybe he'd actually get some decent sleep then). Stiles had spent the night before staring at the ceiling, unable to let himself fall asleep in fear of waking back up to that feeling. He was almost to his locker when he walked right into someone, causing them both to drop their books. “Fuck,” Stiles sighed, running a hand through his hair while crouching down to gather his things again. “I mean, sorry.”

 

“Are you okay?” Stiles heard in response, making him lift tired eyes to see Danny standing there with a furrowed brow before bending down to pick up his own books. “You look like hell, Stilinski.”

 

“Thanks,” the teen grumbled as he stood up and continued toward his classroom only to stop and look at Danny when the other teen grabbed his arm. “What?”

 

“Seriously, Stiles; are you okay?” Danny’s brow furrowed slightly as he watched the other teen, who was paler and skinnier than he had ever been before. He was not sure what could be going on in Stiles' life to cause such a dramatic change, but it could not be good no matter what it was.

 

Stiles idly wet his lips and nodded a little as he pulled back from Danny’s grip. “Fine. I have to get to class.”

 

Danny frowned a little as he watched Stiles filter away with the other students heading in the same direction. Something was very wrong, it was a nagging feeling that had been bugging him since the year before, and only grew more so after Ethan and Aiden randomly disappeared about a month before. Ethan had not even given him an explanation. He had just been _gone_. That was the least concerning bit, though. There was those freak storms a few months before, those kids that got killed, Scott and his friends all acting so weird. It was just a lot to try to figure out, but Danny could not see a connecting piece. Something told him, though, that it was all connected.

 

The thing that worried him the most right then was how out of it Stiles had looked. Danny had never witnessed the other teen looking that far _gone_. What made it worse, in his opinion as he watched Stiles stumble into his classroom down the hall, was that Scott was not there with the other boy. Where _was_ Scott, anyway?

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“Mahealani, you're with... Stilinski,” their world history teacher announced as she glanced over the assignment list, seeing who had not gotten assigned a partner for the assignment. Danny hated group or partner projects; he almost always did the work. However, glancing over to where Stiles sat, propping his head up at the back desk while looking like he was about to fall over, Danny decided that maybe it was not such a bad thing if he did most of the work that time.

 

The bell rang a moment later, making Stiles jump and hit his knee on the bottom side of the desk. Stiles winced and rubbed his knee with one hand while gathering his things with the other. The teen seemed completely unaware of the partner project, even as Scott came over to his desk with a sigh about how he had no idea what he and Isaac were going to do it over. Stiles hummed absentmindedly in response, picking up his backpack and pulling it up onto his shoulder as Danny walked over to the two of them. “Hey, Stilinski,” Danny said, catching both Stiles' and Scott's attention as they looked to him. “Come over after school. We can start on the project.”

 

Despite the completely confused expression on Stiles' face, he nodded and said, “Yeah, sure. See ya then.”

 

Danny nodded with a slight smile that Stiles returned half-heartedly before turning to head out of the room with Scott. As they left, Danny thought he heard Scott ask, “Are you not sleeping again? Stiles...”

 

He heard the muffled sound of Stiles replying, but even as he walked after the two, he never heard exactly what Stiles was saying above the hustle and bustle of everyone else in the hallway. Danny was not sure _why_ he was suddenly so worried about Stiles; but, he guessed it had something to do with actually getting a good look at him that morning. Danny had never really paid any attention; now that he had seen how worn down Stiles appeared, though... well, it was hard to ignore.

 

Danny did not see McCall or Stilinski again until the last class of the day. Allison and Lydia were in the class with them, and Allison looked just as worn down as Stiles and Scott did. He did not miss the worried expression that formed on Lydia's face as she watched the three of them talking softly. Allison placed her hand on the back of Stiles' neck, squeezing gently as she tangled the fingers of her other hand with Scott's. “We've been through harder stuff than this,” Allison said quietly as Danny walked by to head to his own desk. Allison had a smile on her face that did not quite reach her eyes, and Danny wondered if she believed her own words.

 

Stiles sighed softly and offered Allison a faint smile with a nod. “Yeah, you're right. We can handle this,” he stated, his voice sounding a lot more unsure than Danny thought that Stiles had meant.

 

Scott did his best to ignore that, though, and gave the other two one of those completely blissful smiles that he was known to be able to produce at the drop of the hat. Just then, the bell rang and the three of them went their separate ways (though Scott and Stiles sat at desks next to one another), Allison crossing the room to sit by Lydia.

 

Danny found himself subtly watching Stiles throughout the lesson, not that Stiles would have really noticed even if he had been _staring_ because of how out of it the other boy was. The teacher wasn't even really saying much that was useful or needed to be written down (it was all covered in the reading they were supposed to do), yet Stiles' pencil was almost constantly moving. Maybe he was using the constant motion to keep himself awake. Danny had done that before himself, scribbled circles all over his notebook to keep awake in Harris' class after a middle-of-the-week party at Jackson’s the night before.

 

When the bell to release them from class rang once again, Danny was the one to jump. It took Scott resting a hand on Stiles' shoulder for the other teen to blink several times and look up at his best friend. Stiles said something that Danny could not hear over the rest of the classroom moving around, but he quickly closed the notebook he had been writing in and he shoved it into his backpack before starting to walk out of the classroom with Scott. He was almost to the door when his steps halted and he turned back around to look for Danny. When he spotted the other teen heading his way, he said, “I can come by in about an hour. I've an errand to run first.”

 

“That's fine,” replied Danny with a slight nod, brow furrowing a little once Stiles turned to walk off again. He really wished he knew what was going on, and only partially because he did not like being in the dark. Honestly, he really just found himself worried about Stiles, which was something completely new. Since when did he worry about _Stiles Stilinski_?

 

Danny quickly shrugged it off and started to walk to his locker so he could get all of his homework for the evening. Once that was done, he waved good-bye to some of his friends and started to leave the school, texting Jackson as he went. _**School sucks when you're not here. :(**_

 

He was not sure if Jackson would even reply to the message, but like always, it was hit-or-miss with what you would get a response to when it came to Jackson. So, Danny was not too worried about it as he climbed into his car, tossing his backpack into the passenger seat. The drive home was rather uneventful compared to the rest of his day; he just tapped his thumbs against the steering wheel while listening to the radio.

 

There was no one home when he got to the house, but that did not surprise him any. His sisters were freshmen that year (twins, born ten minutes apart), and often Clara and Jessica were known to go over to friends' houses after school. They didn't want rides from Danny, even though they were going to the same house; but, it was whatever. He probably would not want to be seen with his older brother if he had one.

 

Since he had the house to himself, Danny had no problems turning the television onto one of the recap shows for football while grabbing a snack and a drink before starting on his homework. He sat in the living room instead of his bedroom that day so that he could listen for Stiles getting there. Danny’s focus was half on his homework, and half on the game playing on the television, which was why by the time the doorbell rang, Danny was barely even done with his English assignment. Danny sighed and absentmindedly ran a hand through his hair as he got up and walked over to the door. Once there, he unlocked it and opened it to find Stiles there, drinking out of a can of Rockstar Energy Drink

 

Danny highly doubted the other teen needed that, but he bit his tongue to keep from commenting as he stepped aside to let Stiles in. “Hey,” Danny said, slightly awkwardly. It was more than awkward to have Stiles in his house. Growing up together, they knew where one another lived; but, neither boy had ever been _in_ each others' homes. “Uh, we can start working at the table there.” Danny nodded toward the coffee table, where the rest of his homework was sprawled out.

 

“Cool,” replied Stiles with a nod before going over to take a seat on the couch, placing his own backpack at his feet with another drink out of the can in his hand. Danny followed to sit down in one of the empty spots on the couch, and he gathered his English assignment to set aside as he did. The teen then pulled out his stuff for world history, while Stiles did the same. “So, uh, what exactly is this assignment over?”

 

“The Salem witch trials, and similar events worldwide,” replied Danny, his brow lifting a little when Stiles let out a small bark of laughter in response. “Something funny?”

 

“Just life.” Stiles sighed and shook his head a little, setting aside the drink can in a space near the middle of the table so that it was not likely he would knock it over later. “Poster board or PowerPoint?”

 

“Were you just not paying any attention at all?”

 

Stiles shook his head a little with another heavy sigh and a shrug of his shoulders while using his free hand to ruffle the hair at the back of his head. The response was something so very unlike the studious teen that Danny had always known. “Nah, I was kind of out of it,” he admitted with another shrug, dropping his hand to his side.

 

Danny sighed inaudibly, taking a drink out of his water glass before answering, “PowerPoint. You really look like shit, Stilinski. Maybe you should actually sleep tonight instead of playing video games all night with Scott.” Danny was pretty sure that whatever was keeping Stiles awake was more complex than video games, but it wasn't _really_ his business, and if Stiles did not want to explain, then that was about as far as Danny was getting to pushing.

 

A very faint smile tugged upward on Stiles' lips as he glanced over at Danny. “Yeah. Probably a good idea.” Stiles nodded a little, smiling slightly once again, though the action never quite reached his eyes. “C'mon, let's figure this shit out so I can stop annoying you.”

 

“You're not annoying me,” Danny replied honestly, though he flipped through his history book to the place in the chapter that would be most beneficial for them to start on. Stiles was definitely not annoying him that afternoon; worrying him, sure, but not annoying. Stiles was so still that it was unnerving, and though a part of him was sure he should probably be glad for the quieter version of Stiles, it really just made him worry that something was seriously wrong with him. What could be so bad that Mister Jokes-and-Sarcasm could barely even manage a smile?

 

Stiles watched Danny for a moment, quietly as if he was trying to make sense of what Danny had just stated. He had not thought it was that confusing of a comment. After a moment, though, Stiles shrugged and said, “Either way. Let's do this.”

 

After that, their homework session was spent without conversation that wasn't related to the topic save for a snack break in which Danny stole a couple of his sisters' Capri-Suns from the fridge to share with Stiles. After that break, though, they found themselves talking about winter break and lacrosse in the spring semester. Stiles was smiling and laughing a little more than Danny had seen in a long while. He was almost starting to think that maybe things weren't as bad as he had thought, but after a while, Stiles started to space out a little. “Are you okay?” Danny asked with a furrowed brow.

 

“Hmm...? Oh, yeah, 'm fine,” Stiles replied with a nod, running a hand through his hair as he stood up. “Yeah, I think I just... I need some air.” Stiles nodded again, his brow furrowing a little. “I feel kinda dizzy.”

 

“Wha-?” Danny barely got the sound out before he noticed Stiles slumping forward. He rushed over to catch the other boy before he actually hit the ground. “Stiles? Shit.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“I called his dad already,” Danny told his parents as they stood in the hallway of the hospital. Danny had not known what else to do when Stiles passed out in his living room, and then he did not wake back up, though Danny tried. The sheriff had not answered the call from Danny, but he was sure the hospital would be calling him to let him know soon enough. The teen had one arm crossed over his chest, and the other hand was up by his mouth so he could absentmindedly chew on his thumbnail. “He's going to be okay, right?”

 

Whatever Danny’s mother had to say in response went unheard by the teen as his attention was brought to the sound of someone rushing down the hallway while hurriedly (yet politely) telling people to move out of the way. He saw Melissa McCall quickly heading their direction, and she passed the small family by only to turn into the door of Stiles' room behind Danny. Curiously, Danny turned to follow her into the room and lingered near the door-way where he could see Melissa asking the other nurses to move aside. “He's fine,” Melissa insisted with a smile that Danny did not believe. “Just low blood sugar is all. I know how to handle this.”

 

She nodded and waited for the other medical staff to leave before she ran a hand through the teen's hair in a motherly fashion, something that Danny knew the other teen had not really had in several years. “Stiles, sweetheart,” Melissa said in a warm yet firm voice, which made Danny’s brow furrow. Stiles was completely out of it. How did she think that would work? He wondered briefly if he should step away, almost feeling like he was witnessing something he should not have been; but, he found himself unable to move. “I know you can hear me, and I need you to listen. _Wake up_ , Stiles. Your father's on the way. You're just lucky I haven't told Scott yet. This wouldn't happen if you would just sl--” Melissa cut off with a soft sigh through her nose and a shake of her head as she reached over for the pitcher of water next to the bed. She poured it into one of the styrofoam cups, which Danny found was odd, before quickly upturning it over the other teen's face.

 

With the splash of cold water, Stiles started awake, his eyes snapping open as he suddenly seemed to struggle for air as if he was having a panic attack. The other boy's fingers curled into the sheets beneath his hand as Melissa’s hands rested on his shoulders and she calmly started trying to talk him down. “Just breathe with me Stiles, you're okay,” Melissa stated, nodding a little before focusing on just taking steady breaths. “There you go. Breathe.” Melissa then seemed to collapse on the edge of Stiles' bed, pulling him into a tight hug, one hand shifting through his hair like it had been earlier.

 

Danny swore he heard her mumbling something about not doing things like that to her, and how he needed to sleep, that he couldn't keep going until he passed out like that again. They would figure something out, she promised. At least, that was what Danny thought she said. He was a bit too distracted watching Stiles, who was staring at him with blood-shot eyes over Melissa’s shoulder as he returned the hug tightly. Stiles lifted his head a little and wet his lips as if he was going to say something, but Danny simply nodded with a faint smile and took a step back. No matter what was going on (and Danny was _so_ confused), at least Stiles seemed to be okay, even more so as the sheriff rushed by asking questions. “I'm fine, Dad,” Stiles replied in a slightly hoarse voice. “I just... I'll be fine.”

 

Danny walked farther away from the door with his parents as Linden Stilinski kept asking his son questions. The teen wanted to go ask the other boy some of his own, but he kept walking instead. The entire time, he could not get the completely haunted look that had been on Stiles' face out of his head, while trying to deny the urge to be the one to get rid of it.

 

Everything would just go back to normal in the morning, and it would be like nothing ever happened. At least, that was what Danny tried to tell himself as he finally checked the text from Jackson that had come in sometime during the ambulance ride from his house to the hospital. _**Miss you too.**_


	2. II: Questions without Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny has questions, so many questions, and nobody seems to be willing to give him the answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has read this story so far! I hope that all of you continue to enjoy it.

It haunted him, that look that had been on Stiles' face. Danny saw it in his dreams that night, even. He almost forgot about it the next morning until he was at school and realized that Stiles was not there. Danny spotted Scott looking somber next to Isaac at the curly-haired boy's locker, and he went over to the two of them. “How's Stiles?” he found himself asking before he could stop himself. Scott seemed confused as to why Danny was asking, making the goalie roll his eyes. “Stiles was at my place when he passed out last night.” Danny figured that by that point Scott had learned of his best friend's trip to the ER.

 

Scott seemed more relaxed once he realized that Danny had an actual reason for being curious about how Stiles was. Danny was more concerned than curious, but Scott did not need to know that. “Oh, yeah. He's fine now. Blood sugar just dropped too low. Linden wanted to give him the day off, though,” Scott explained with a nod that Isaac mirrored, as if both of them insisting it made it more of the truth.

 

Danny honestly just did not buy the whole blood sugar thing. Stiles had consumed an energy drink, Capri-Suns, and some cookies. There was no way the other boy's loss of consciousness was related to food intake; especially when Allison and Scott did not look too much better than Stiles did. “Okay,” was the only response Danny gave, however, before he walked away from the duo. As he went, Danny pulled out his phone and sent another text to Jackson. _**Things are so messed up here, dude. Dunno what to do.**_

 

He was almost to the classroom he needed to be at when the incessant vibrating of his phone (indicating a call), made him duck into an empty room along the way. “What d'you mean?” Jackson asked in a gruff, slightly slurred voice, as if he had just woken up, when Danny answered the call.

 

Danny let out a heavy breath and sat on top of a desk as he told Jackson everything. He told Jackson about the odd deaths, about Ethan and Aiden's disappearance, Erica and Boyd's accidental deaths (which no one seemed to have any real information on), the others' odd behaviors. Jackson remained quiet the entire time that Danny spoke. After a minute of silence when Danny finished speaking, Jackson sighed heavily, and Danny could hear the sounds of him moving around whatever room he was in. “So, the Scooby gang's weirder than ever,” replied Jackson, trying not to show much emotion at the shock he felt for the news of Boyd and Erica’s deaths. Last he had heard from Derek, Boyd was back. He seemed to not want to talk about that part of what Danny had said, however. “There's not much I can do from here, dude.”

 

“Scooby gang?” Danny’s brow lifted slightly at the term, trying to figure out just why Jackson would choose that specific term to call Stilinski, McCall, and the others.

 

“Yeah, it's... never mind. I’ve gotta go. Get to class, you're late.”

 

As Jackson hung up without waiting for a response, the tardy bell rang, making Danny jump a little. How had Jackson known that the bell was about to ring? Was he that in tune to the school's schedule and the time difference? Danny did not think his best friend was that aware of things, but it was the only explanation he could think off. Shrugging it off, Danny sighed but headed to his class.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Stiles was given some low-dose, non-habit forming sleep aids from Melissa after his trip to the hospital. With them, he slept through the night without many intense nightmares, as had become the norm. There were still nightmares, but not ones that woke him up or had him crying out in his sleep. When he finally woke up that day, it was almost noon, and Stiles felt as though he were nursing a hangover.

 

The teen stumbled down to the kitchen, where he found a note on the coffee pot from his father. ' _No coffee. Just hot chocolate or tea. See you at 7. -Dad_ ' Stiles was sure he would be able to manage to make a pot of coffee without his dad finding out, but at the same time, he really did not want to push his luck. He was feeling better that day, though still a little drowsy. With a sigh, Stiles decided to make himself some tea, and afterward he sat curled up on the couch watching one of the random comedy movies that he had recorded to watch when he got the time in order to have something to do besides research.

 

Stiles figured he probably have been on the computer, learning as much as he could about the nemeton and emissaries, and possible foes they may face due to Beacon Hills becoming a beacon once again. At the same time, though, he finally felt _calm_ for the first time since it had happened, and he really did not want to disrupt that by research. It was just a good, calm day where he could rest and recharge a bit. He would return to school the next day, prepare for finals, and continue on with his life as if nothing had happened. It was not like anyone would really have noticed his absence outside of the people who already knew why he was not there.

 

He was so intently focused on the movie that was playing on the television that he had not heard someone pull up into the drive or realized that he was not alone until there was someone knocking on the door, making Stiles jump and nearly fall off of the couch in surprise. The teen took a few steadying breaths as he sat there, closing his eyes for a moment before he stood up and went to answer the door. He had no idea who it could have been (Scott was at work, and Allison was training with Isaac and her father, and Lydia would have let him know she was coming over and to leave the door unlocked), so his brow furrowed a little as he actually opened the door.

 

The expression on his face changed to one that was nothing short of complete surprise and confusion when he found _Danny_ standing on his front porch. “Oh, uh, hi,” Stiles said awkwardly, reaching up to ruffle the hair on the back of his head. “Is, uh.... Can I help you?”

 

“Are you okay?” Danny asked after a moment, and when Stiles opened his mouth to respond, the goalie continued on to say, “And don't spurt that low blood sugar crap at me again, because we _both_ know that was not an issue last night.”

 

“I... It's... I’m fine.” Stiles stumbled over his words, though he did step aside to let Danny into the house. He shut the door and absently bit at the thumbnail of one hand as he walked back over toward the couch. “Just... Don't worry. I’m fine.”

 

Danny’s brow lifted in disbelief as he dropped his bag onto the floor near the couch, sitting down next to where Stiles had settled down without even realizing it. “You look like death, Stiles,” replied Danny as he rested his elbows on his knees and studied the other teen. “Weird shit has been going on in this town, and now this... You passed out in my arms, dude. I just... I really don't think you're as okay as you're saying, and I want to make sure you will be.”

 

“Why?” Stiles' brow furrowed as he idly toyed with one of the strings on his hoodie's hood, glancing over at Danny out of the corner of his eye. They weren't friends by any means. They were partners on a school assignment and gone to the same school in the same grade since kindergarten. That did not mean they were friends, nor had they ever really been. Stiles had always been too loud, too hard to keep up with.

 

“You were suddenly dropping to the floor _in my living room_ , pretty sure that justifies a reason.” Okay, so Danny was not entirely sure why he was so worried about Stiles' well being, but he was. He did not want to see the other teen just _fall_ like that ever again. It was probably one of the scariest things that he had ever witnessed, and he did not think he could handle that another time.

 

Stiles worried at his lower lip, which looked as though it was nearly split (probably from Stiles doing just that to it), keeping his eyes trained on his hands where they were resting on his legs. “My dad said you rode with me to the hospital,” replied Stiles in a small voice. Honestly, he had been completely unaware. He only vaguely remembered waking up in the hospital, too. He was pretty sure he had seen Danny, but that could have just been because his father had mentioned that Danny had not left until after he had woken. Everything about that night (even before he finally collapsed) was a major blur to him.

 

Danny nodded a little, and it was only then that Stiles realized that the other teen had been watching him closely the entire time. It was a little unnerving. “I wanted to make sure you would be okay. I had to see for myself.” Danny shrugged as though it was not a big deal, as though it did not mean anything. Of course, Stiles was not sure it really did mean anything; it just felt like it did. What it meant, though, was something that Stiles was unsure of.

 

“I can't tell you,” Stiles said quietly after a couple more moments, shaking his head a little before fully looking over at Danny. “I'll be okay, though; back at school tomorrow. S'all you need to know.”

 

The other teen sighed heavily, as though he did not believe Stiles; but, after a moment, Danny nodded, absentmindedly wetting his lips. “Yeah, alright.” He did not like it, wanted to know what was happening, but he knew that continuing to press the issue was not going to get him anyway. Stiles was more stubborn than Jackson on a bad day. “I brought your homework.”

 

Stiles' eyes widened slightly in surprise at that statement as he watched Danny pull a few notebooks and textbooks out of his backpack that Stiles recognized as his own. He placed them on the coffee table. “The new English teacher wants you to pick a novel to read and do an essay on. No requirements past the book has to be over 10,000 words.”

 

The usually talkative teen nodded a little and remained quiet through most of Danny explaining the different assignments he had brought with him. The two of them talked about their history project some as well, until the sheriff came home at seven like he had told Stiles in the note. Linden's brow rose ever so slightly as he hung his jacket up on the rack in the entrance hall when he spotted Stiles and Danny sitting on the living room couch. “Hello, boys,” he stated, crossing his arms while walking into the living room. “Homework?”

 

“Mm-hmm,” replied Stiles with a nod, writing down a quick note on something for them to do for their project before looking up at his father. “Danny brought me me assignments from the day.”

 

“I figured Scott would...”

 

Stiles waved a hand dismissively and grabbed his tea again to take the final few dregs of the drink before explaining, “He's at work.”

 

“Right.” The sheriff then nodded and started to walk toward the kitchen. “Danny, are you joining us for dinner?”

 

The man called the words over his shoulder as he went, not really looking back any. Danny seemed to be stuck on exactly how to answer as he looked toward Stiles, who shrugged in response. He did not care whether Danny stayed or not. It was not like Danny was terrible company when he wasn't pressuring Stiles for answers he could not give. What surprised him the most was the fact that Danny seemed to be contemplating it. Surely Danny had better things to do with his evening than spend it with the class weirdo and his father. “If that's okay,” Danny answered after another moment.

 

Linden stated that it was more than okay as he started to gather things from the fridge to actually make dinner, something that had grown more common in the Stilinski household since the sheriff had gotten in the know. He tried harder to make sure he and Stiles had at least one night a week where they sat down and had a meal together like they used to. It seemed to be the best thing, as none of them had any idea what could happen the next day with their lives so entangled into the supernatural.

 

The two teens continued to work on homework (Danny even helped Stiles with his calculus and chemistry homework) while Linden was in the kitchen. He had changed into street clothes sometime after starting to cook dinner, and before he went into the living room to tell the teens that dinner was finished. It was odd to see Stiles sitting on the couch next to someone that was not Scott, but at the same time, the man was glad that his son seemed to at least be getting along with someone who was not the teen he was attached at the hip to. “Dinner's done,” Linden stated from the doorway, his sudden voice causing Stiles to start and nearly fall off the couch for the second time that day. It was more common than Linden would like to admit.

 

“Thanks, dad,” replied Stiles with a smile before taking a deep breath to steady himself. Then, he smiled at Danny in a way that reminded the goalie of Stiles before he started to get all worn down by... _something_. It was nice. “C'mon. Let's get food, then you can help me finish this last equation.”

 

“Yeah, alright,” said Danny as he stood up with the other teen and the two of them headed toward the kitchen with Linden, whom Danny thanked for letting him stay there for dinner.

 

Linden waved a hand dismissively in a manner that reminded Danny instantly of Stiles. “It's no problem,” he replied, sounding a lot more casual about it than he felt. As much as he was thankfully that his son had Scott as a friend, it did his heart good to see Stiles at least trying to make other friends at the same time. At least, Linden hoped that Stiles was trying to make a new friend.

 

The three of them talked as they ate, mostly about different sports games and the upcoming lacrosse season, until Stiles and Danny returned to their homework so Stiles could get that last equation done. Stiles was yawning every few moments as they worked, ruffling his hair and stretching his back while seemingly trying to keep himself awake enough to follow what Danny was attempting to explain. Danny found it a bit distracting, to be honest.

 

In what felt like no time at all, though, Danny was heading back out to his car while telling Stiles that he would see him tomorrow. Stiles had simply nodded in response with a slight smile as Danny walked off the front porch before shutting and locking the front door.

 

The next morning, Danny was talking to one of the guys on the lacrosse team when Stiles, Scott, Isaac, Allison, and Lydia came into the school. Isaac and Stiles were talking quietly amongst themselves, Isaac’s hand on Stiles' shoulder, while Lydia walked with a purpose, as if there was something she needed to go fix. “I dunno,” Danny heard Stiles say quietly as they passed. “Just something's wrong. It wasn't a normal nightmare.”

 

“I agree with Stiles,” Allison said a little louder than she probably needed to, making Danny wonder if she could hear herself at the moment. “I had the same dream.”

 

“Wait, what?” questioned Isaac, and then they were gone around a corner, leaving Danny with a furrowed brow as he leaned slightly to one side in an futile attempt to try and hear what they continued to say.

 

After that, Danny did his best to forget what little, uninformative things that he had heard from the other teens and he focused on school. It was not until lunch that he remembered it, as he sat down at his table and watched Stiles practically dozing off on Scott's shoulder where they sat across the room. Scott looked as though he was about to drop, as well, while Allison sipped on a coffee that Danny was not sure how she had gotten. He was startled out of his thoughts when suddenly Lydia was sitting down in front of him. “You don't want to know, Danny,” Lydia stated, crossing her arms so that her elbows were on the table as she leaned forward. “Stiles told me about you asking him what's going on.” Which, of course he had; everyone had noticed that Stiles and Lydia were actually _friends_ by that point, after Stilinski had stopped worshiping the ground she walked on. “Just trust me, you don't want to know. You're better off not knowing. Focus on school, your friends, your social life; but, just stop trying to figure this out.”

 

The goalie could not keep from lifting his brow a little, leaning forward enough to mirror Lydia's stance as he said, “If you haven't noticed, Lydia, I don't really have any actual _friends_ since this weirdness all started and Jackson left, and then Ethan up and disappeared.” Sure, Danny was popular, and he could have anybody he wanted to hang out with whenever he wanted. That did not make any of those people his actual friend, however. He had never had anyone that actually _knew_ him outside of Jackson, and Ethan was starting to, but that did not last, obviously.

 

Lydia's face pinched slightly at the mention of Ethan, probably remembering her little fling with Aiden, who had left with his twin, supposedly. “The twins were bad news, anyway.” Lydia appreciated their heroics there toward the end, but when it really came down to it. They killed Boyd, they had forced Derek to kill Boyd when the person responsible for Ennis' death was Deucalion. That was not something she could really look past, though she had honestly tried there for a while. It wasn't until Stiles had finally snapped and called the twins out on their behavior that Lydia really came to her senses about the whole thing. The twins had not so much just up and left as they were given no other options.

 

They had enough to worry about with Peter lurking around to have to keep track of murderous twins. “What do you mean by that, Lydia? Ethan was nice,” replied Danny with a faint frown as he picked up the apple on his tray to toy with, mostly as a way to slightly distract him from the conversation at hand.

 

“Yeah, a nice guy who locked Isaac in a closet after figuring out he's claustrophobic and setting him up for a fight he had not taken place in. Which, of course, did not warrant Isaac actually beating him up on that cross country trip. Then again, at that point, we had thought that the twins had seriously injured a... well, almost friend. More of a reluctant ally, really.” Lydia tilted her head to one side slightly as she spoke, thinking over the words as she said them. They revealed just enough, she thought, without telling too much.

 

Danny dropped the apple in his hand back onto the tray and looked over to the other table, where it seemed like Isaac was trying his hardest not to look in their direction and focus on his conversation with Scott and Allison. “He wouldn't do that,” replied Danny in a small voice.

 

“Oh, but he did. Aiden helped, and I tried to do the whole blind eye to it thing; but, I’m glad he's gone.” Lydia waved her hand dismissively before smiling softly at Danny, reaching over to gently squeeze his arm. “All you need to know, Danny, is that things are... rough now, but they'll get better. We're handling it.”

 

“You're 'handling it'. Lydia, it sounds like some sort of gang.” Danny’s brow rose as Lydia simply chuckled in response and flashed a brilliant grin.

 

Without another word, Lydia got up and went over to the table where Stiles and the others were sitting. Isaac immediately looked to her and started to ask quiet questions that Danny could not hear over the din of the cafeteria. Lydia simply squeezed Isaac’s shoulder before taking a seat at the table next to Stiles, who immediately shifted to rest his head on her shoulder instead of Scott's. Danny watched as Lydia absentmindedly lifted a hand to shift her fingers through Stiles' hair. They were an odd bunch, Danny realized not for the first time, and he only had more questions than he had answers. It was frustrating.

 

He wanted to _know_. His thoughts were slightly derailed when after a moment, Stiles' eyes landed on him from across the room, that completely haunted expression on his face again as his friends continued to talk around them. It took all of Danny’s self-restraint to not cross the room and pull Stiles into a fierce hug, even as Stiles turned his eyes away. With a heavy sigh and a shake of his head, Danny ran a hand through his hair and pulled out his cell phone to send a text to Jackson. _**Wish you were here.**_


	3. III: Including Danny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Danny is finally tired of being on the outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this update took me a lot longer than I had anticipated. Work kinda got away from me there for a bit. Anyway, here's the new chapter. **WARNING:** there are mentions of events from _Hotel California_ , including the suicide attempts.

Danny was starting to get really tired of being so out of the loop by the end of the week, the last day of finals. Stiles looked as though he was going to snap on someone, and Scott could barely keep his eyes open. Allison looked as though the only thing that was keeping her awake was the 5-Hour Energy that Danny had seen her chug as she walked into the school. Lydia seemed like she was struggling to keep it together, and Isaac seemed seconds away from jumping out of his skin. They stood near the end of the hallway, where their shared homeroom was. Allison and Isaac were talking quietly while Scott leaned against Allison. Stiles' hands shook as he blinked at the floor, obviously not paying attention to a word that Lydia was rambling to him.

 

Stiles was the first one to look up as Danny walked over to them, a frown folding his features as his brow furrowed. He knew what Danny wanted, but was still unsure as to whether or not telling the goalie would be a good thing. It could make him safer, or put him in more danger. Stiles did not want to put him into more danger. He opened his mouth to say something to Danny, only to freeze when both Scott and Isaac suddenly perked up and their attentions snapped to the front doors of the school. “What?” Stiles asked in a quiet voice that neither one seemed to be able to hear, though Danny did.

 

“What the...?” mumbled Isaac before the front door burst open and Jackson came striding through as if he had not been missing all year.

 

Everyone in the hall stopped to stare, several of them (Lydia included) dropping their books, as they watched Jackson make his way toward the principal's office. Jackson saw the little group at the end of the hall and simply raised a brow at them as he turned into the office and then shut the door behind him. The murmuring filled the hallway almost instantly, people trying to figure out why Jackson was back and just where he had gone. Danny felt sick. He was not entirely sure why, but something told him that if Jackson was back, no good would come from it.

 

Danny’s attention then turned back to Stiles, whose brow was furrowed as he clenched and unclenched his fingers in an attempt to keep them from shaking. “Stiles?” Scott asked before Danny could even get a word out.

 

“I'm fine,” he replied with a tired sigh, running both hands through his hair. “Didn't sleep well last night, but I’m fine.” Stiles nodded a couple of times, wincing as the bell rang for class, sounding louder than it needed to. “Can we just go to class, now?” Stiles started to lead the others toward homeroom, but stopped when Danny gently grabbed his arm. Stiles turned to look at the other teen with a soft sigh. “Yeah?”

 

“Can we talk?” questioned Danny with a slight frown. He would definitely be talking to Jackson later, but he also wanted to talk to Stiles.

 

Stiles absentmindedly wet his lips, glancing over to where the others disappeared around the corner. “Yeah. Tonight, come over so we can finish that stupid project and we can talk then.”

 

Danny seemed to be contemplating something as he wet his lips absentmindedly before he shook his head slightly. Stiles' brow furrowed a little and Danny let out a heavy breath while Stiles' friends watched them from the doorway further down the hall. “I'm tired of not knowing what the hell is going on here, Stiles,” Danny said, quiet enough that any of the passing students could not hear him, but he knew Stiles could. “You can either tell me now, or I’ll figure it out on my own.” He already knew where to start looking. After all, Stiles had stolen that report out of his backpack for a reason. He was not entirely sure what he would find if he delved a little deeper into his assignment, but it was a start.

 

The other teen ran a hand through his hair a few times, brow furrowing a little as he glanced over to where Scott and the others stood. Scott shook his head a little, but Allison nodded while Isaac lifted his shoulders in a shrug. Stiles almost laughed at the complete lack of help, but he simply sighed once again and he grabbed Danny’s forearm, gently pushing him toward the door to start to lead him out. “Let's go then. School is not the place for this conversation.”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

“This is the Hale house,” was Danny’s first comment when he finally realized where Stiles had taken him. Stiles simply looked over his shoulder and nodded before continuing into the house. Danny let out a heavy breath, staring up at the windows before finally going up the steps and following Stiles inside. “Why are we _here_ Stiles?”

 

“Kate Argent was killed here,” Stiles explained from another room while Danny stopped and bent down to examine what looked like claw marks on the floor. Danny reached down to run his fingers over the lines before quickly pulling his hand away and straightening back up. “Eight Hales were killed here by Kate; and, Peter Hale was left lost inside his head until our sophomore year.”

 

Danny’s brow furrowed a little as he followed the sound of Stiles' voice into what looked like it used to be the living room. There were broken pieces of furniture and wood everywhere; some of it did not look like it was because of the fire that everyone knew about. “Stiles, does this have a _point_?” Danny asked, looking around the room a little more before his eyes settled on Stiles.

 

The other teen looked even more pale and exhausted than he had looked at the school. Stiles was idly toying with a small blade with weird symbols etched into the side of it. It scared Danny that Stiles seemed so relaxed with it. “Kate and the Argents, they're supposed to follow a code. _We hunt those who hunt us_ ; but, Kate, she didn't care. She used Derek to destroy the Hales simply because they existed.”

 

“Stiles, you're not making any sense,” sighed Danny with a shake of his head.

 

Stiles let out a heavy breath and lifted his shoulders in a tired shrug. “You're going to think I’m crazy.”

 

“I already think you're crazy. What's going _on_ Stiles?” Danny’s voice was curt and exasperated, but Stiles seemed undeterred and not likely to speed up his explanation.

 

Instead, Stiles just seemed to watch Danny for several long minutes. “Werewolves,” Stiles said in a steady voice that practically sent a chill down Danny’s spine. “Scott, Isaac, Derek, Cora, Jackson, Ethan, Aiden... they're all werewolves. So were Erica and Boyd. Allison and her father are hunters, but they've adopted a new code. _We protect those that cannot protect themselves_. Personally, I prefer this code.” Danny said nothing. He just stared at Stiles as Stiles continued to toy with the blade in his hand. “At the beginning of the semester, Julia Baccari... who we knew as Jennifer Blake, made several human sacrifices to make herself strong enough to destroy a pack of werewolves. She was going to kill my father, Chris Argent, and Melissa McCall.

 

“Allison, Scott, and I couldn't let that happen. So, some magic crap happened and we died sorta but came back and now there's a beacon lit for all the supernatural to come _here_. We're not exactly the same anymore. Something about a door, or a jar, or whatever and needing anchors in the darkness and I just... Well, yeah, no that's my personal struggle now and not anyone elses' business. But, yes, werewolves, hunters, kanimas. You'll have to ask Jackson about the whole kanima thing.”

 

Danny just kind of stared dumbstruck at Stiles still. He wanted to call Stiles out on his shit, to comment on how ridiculous that all sounded. However, before Danny could say a word, Jackson came stalking into the room. “Stilinski, what are you _doing_?” Jackson demanded as he took the knife out of Stiles' hands despite the other teen's protest. “What did you tell him?”

 

“What he deserves to know,” Stiles snapped with a glare, shoving Jackson away from him. “Just because you're all fang-y now doesn't mean you get to boss me around, Jackson. You're still just a _beta_.”

 

Danny swore that his best friend's eyes flashed a cold, brilliant blue just then with a scowl on his face as he stared at Stiles. “Beta or not, it's not your place to decide what Danny knows.”

 

“No, it's Danny’s place! He wants to know, so I’ll suck it up and tell him unlike _you_.” Stiles did not so much as flinch when Jackson let out a low growl that had Danny tensing in fear, his flight or fight response starting to kick in. “I've kept quiet for this long because he's _your_ best friend; but, if you're going to continue to leave him here, in the dark when things could _kill_ him because he's unaware, then... I’m not going to just sit idly by and let that be my fault.”

 

As much as Danny wanted to laugh in Stiles' face, to tell him that he was crazy and to ask Jackson what was really going on, there was a bitterness to Stiles' voice, a tone that led Danny to believe without any doubts that Stiles was trying to tell him the truth. _Werewolves_ were a thing. That was. No, that actually made a lot of sense when he put it into perspective. “Right, so, are you two done fighting now? Because I’d really like to get back to this whole _werewolves are real_ thing,” Danny said after clearing his throat, making both Jackson and Stiles look toward him as he rose his brow a little.

 

Jackson turned to glare at Stiles again, who simply shrugged and stilled the knife in his hand. “Yeah, so, that's the big secret,” Stiles said with a slight shrug and a tired sigh. “There's more to it than that, some stuff that Jackson needs filled on as well because things happened while he was hiding away in London.”

 

“I wasn't hiding away,” Jackson growled lowly through clenched teeth, his eyes flashing blue once again.

 

“Right. Whatever. Coping at a distance. Who cares, you were _gone_ and we could have used your help, dude. Everything's fucked up. Something's coming. Something bad.” Stiles seemed to shudder a little at the words, and his brow furrowed as he tightened his grip on the knife's handle. Danny wanted to ask why Stiles _had_ the knife out in the first place; but, then, he guessed what with all Stiles had managed to share so far and the completely ominous feeling the house gave, it was not completely unwarranted to want protection.

 

Jackson rolled his eyes and huffed as he crossed his arms over his chest. “What did I miss then, Stilinski?”

 

Danny listened quietly as Stiles started to retell about Jennifer, or Julia (whatever her name was), and everything that had happened since Jackson left. He told them about how Lydia was a banshee and Scott was a “true alpha” (whatever that meant). He talked about Kali and the alphas, Ethan and Aiden _killing Boyd and Erica_. Danny thought he was going to be sick. He remembered what Lydia had told him about Ethan’s role in being terrible to Isaac, but that was nothing compared to the fact that he had helped kill some of the kids that Danny had gone to school with. “ _Oh, my god,_ ” Danny breathed out, closing his eyes for a moment as he ran a hand over his face, which made him completely miss the worried look that Stiles sent his way. “And none of you thought to tell me this sooner?”

 

There was an edge to his voice that made Stiles flinch as Danny lowered his hand again, scowling as he looked between the other two teens. “It was supposed to be Jackson’s call,” Stiles replied in a small voice that made him seem even younger than he already looked. “I didn't want you to get involved more, to get hurt. You weren't... they weren't going to hurt _you_ because they figured out you had nothing to do with us, not really. You were safer that way.”

 

“That's why you were asking questions about Ethan on that cross country trip.” It was not a question, more of a realization. Danny felt so _blind_ seeing as everything had literally been right there in front of him the entire time. He had just chosen to not see or believe it. “Something caused Ethan to freak out that night, didn't it? Something not normal?”

 

Stiles nodded a little, worrying at his lower lip while ducking his head a little. The usually talkative teen then quietly explained about the wolfsbane in Coach's whistle, how it had made all the werewolves hallucinate. He explained that Isaac had hidden from whatever he had seen, and how Boyd had tried to drown himself. He told them about how they managed to stop Ethan from cutting himself in half; and, then how Scott had tried to ignite himself. Stiles explained about Lydia saving him and Scott, and how all of them had slept out on the bus afterward because they'd felt safer outside and together. “We're stronger together,” Stiles concluded with a slight nod, “as a pack, humans too.”

 

“Sophomore year?” Danny asked after several long moments of silence, which made Stiles seem to relax a little at the change in subject.

 

The other teen wet his lips before nodding at Jackson, who remained stiff where he stood and quiet. “That, I think, Jackson should tell you.”

 

Jackson let out a sound that almost seemed wounded as he shook his head and took a step back. “I _can't_ ,” Jackson said in a voice that was broken and so unlike the confident tone that Danny was so used to. It made Danny take a step toward his best friend, but Jackson just took another step back before he ran out of the Hale house without looking back.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Somehow, Danny found himself at the Stilinski residence after the big reveal out at the Hale House. Danny was not completely sure that he was not in shock, but he seemed to be okay. Sort of. He still felt a little disoriented and sick to his stomach about everything that he had learned. A part of him was mad that nobody had told him before, but at the same time, a part of him understood. Danny and Stiles did not say anything as Stiles moved around the kitchen, making enough dinner for three while Danny sat at the table. The silence was not awkward or tense, more thoughtful. “Thank you,” Danny finally said after Stiles was nearly done with making dinner. Stiles' brow furrowed as he turned to look at Danny, tilting his head slightly to one side. “For finally telling me.”

 

Stiles' mouth made a small “o” of understanding before he nodded and turned back to what he was doing. “Someone needed to,” was all Stiles had to say by way of explanation with a heavy sigh. He reached up with one hand to ruffle his hair before starting to make some chamomile tea, something he had taken to making of late. “We can work on our project while you're here, if you want.”

 

The goalie started to nod in agreement, but changed his mind mid-way to shake his head as he said, “No.” Stiles' hands stilled as he turned to look at Danny again, that confused and questioning expression on the other teen's face again. “No homework tonight. I could use something non-supernatural related to focus on, though.”

 

“Oh, well... we could watch a movie or something.” Stiles shrugged a little, though his brow was still slightly furrowed in confusion as he messed with his hair once again. Honestly, Stiles was not sure what to make of that. Then again, he kind of wished he'd had someone to help distract him and get him to adjust to the whole werewolves are real thing. He'd had to do that on his own, however.

 

“No werewolves. Or witches. Or vampires,” Danny said by way of agreement, nodding a little with a slight smile that Stiles could not help but mirror.

 

That was how several minutes later, the two teens were sitting on the couch with bowls of the spaghetti that Stiles had thrown together, watching one of the newest Disney movies (Stiles shamelessly owned them all, okay) when the sheriff came in from work. Linden Stilinski stopped at the doorway to the living room, mid-shrug to remove his coat, when he spotted the two teens. “Hello, Danny. I didn't know you were coming over today,” Linden stated, though not unkindly at all. He was honestly just surprised to see Danny there for something other than school work (though Linden was still glad for Stiles attempting to make other friends).

 

“Hello, sir,” Danny said with one of his well-known, friendly smiles as Stiles said, “There's food in the kitchen, Dad.”

 

Linden chuckled as he finished removing his jacket, and he shook his head a little before he went to change. Once he was, he grabbed himself a bowl of spaghetti and joined the teens on the couch, sitting on Stiles' other side and leaving his son in the middle. “Rough day at school?” Linden questioned when he realized the animation on the screen had to belong to a Disney film from the style alone. He did not believe he had seen whichever one it was yet, but with his son's tendency to use them as movies to watch when he was feeling sick or too stressed, he was sure he'd see it several times eventually.

 

“You could say that,” Stiles said, his voice a slight mumble as he took a bite of his food. Stiles just shrugged when his father shot him a pointed look, which made the sheriff sigh with a shake of his head.

 

Danny set his bowl down on the arm of the couch next to him, idly twisting his fork with one hand as he said, “Stiles let me in on the big secret.” He only said something because from what Stiles had explained earlier, it seemed that the sheriff already knew about the whole werewolf thing. Otherwise, Danny would not have had explained in fear of telling someone Stiles had not wanted to know. Just because _he_ had gotten Stiles to tell him did not mean everyone else had or would.

 

Linden sighed heavily and nodded a little as he sank down on the couch a little more, lifting his feet to rest them on the coffee table after crossing his legs at the ankle. “Welcome to the club, kid,” Linden replied, though his tone was tired.

 

The three of them continued sitting there watching the movie, putting in a second one (one of the _Star Trek_ movies, which had made Linden groan though Stiles just smiled and said “C'mon, Dad, it's a great movie and you know you love it.” Danny was sure Stiles was right from the smile Linden had tried to hide), when Danny felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Pulling it out, he did not even look at the text he had gotten as he set it on the coffee table next to his empty bowl. Later, he would read the text from Jackson. _**Can we talk?**_


	4. IV: Avoidance and Sleepovers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Danny needs some time to think things over, and maybe falls asleep at the Stilinski house a few more times than necessary. Maybe.

_**Are you ignoring me?** _

 

_**Danny, come on, man.** _

 

_**We need to talk. Now.** _

 

_**Where are you?** _

 

_**Ok. I get it.** _

 

_**Be careful.** _

 

Sunlight filtered into the Stilinski living room. It was Saturday morning, and Danny knew he should probably fully wake up and head home soon. He had never meant to fall asleep in Stiles' room, watching a movie while laying on the bed next to the other teen. Of course, that only lasted so long until Stiles sat up in bed and started screaming himself hoarse. Danny had stood off to one side awkwardly after Linden came rushing in and held his son close to his chest. They had rocked back and forth, Linden's hand shifting through his son's hair as he quietly reassured Stiles that he was okay, that he was safe and that it had only been a dream. Stiles shook in his father's arms, t-shirt sticking to his skin from sweat.

 

Danny had almost gone home then; but, instead, he had a cup of tea with Linden and ended up crashing on the couch. There was a blanket over him that had not been there when he'd fallen asleep, and he assumed the sheriff had put it there. With a sigh, Danny sat up and ran his fingers through his hair a few times, glancing over at his cell phone on the coffee table. He had ignored Jackson’s texts all night. The teen almost reached for his phone, but stopped when he heard a soft voice at the doorway say, “Oh.” Danny then looked to see Stiles there, who smiled sheepishly with a slight wave and then he gestured behind him. “There's some coffee left, and breakfast if you'd like some.”

 

“Some coffee would be great,” Danny stated as he stood up and stretched in a way that popped his back into a more comfortable alignment. That was the worst part about falling asleep on a couch. Danny folded the blanket and draped it over the back of the couch before he followed Stiles into the kitchen.

 

Stiles showed him where the coffee cups were before letting Danny make his own coffee how he drank it; Stiles had tea. He pointed out the breakfast foods that were still warm on the counter along with the plates and utensils, and then he sat down at the table in front of his own plate. “About last night,” Stiles started to say, his words slow and halting as though he seemed to be struggling with the formation.

 

“You don't have to explain.” Danny shook his head as he sat down at the table, coffee mug warm between his hands. He took a sip of the caffeinated drink as he watched Stiles, finding that he was curious about Stiles' dreams, even if he did not want Stiles to feel compelled to talk about it.

 

The other teen shook his head a little, ruffling his hair idly with one hand before poking at his food again. “It has to do with the whole sacrifice thing that I told you about. I don't... I’ve got these nightmares, and they seem so... _real_. They're... they're just bad. It makes it hard to sleep. I’m supposed to take these sleeping pills to help, but I forgot last night. It's why I passed out at your place, the whole not sleeping thing.”

 

A frown folded Danny’s features as he listened to Stiles, idly twisting his coffee cup back and forth a few times. “Allison and Scott?”

 

Stiles shrugged a little as he took a drink of his tea, shifting so that he was sitting lower in the chair, his foot almost touching Danny’s underneath the table. “Allison has nightmares sometimes, but nothing as intense as mine. We all struggled with seeing things there for a while, and that got better, but I’ve still got these nightmares that I can't wake up from. Sometimes I don't know if I’m dreaming or not. Scott and Allison have a code word for me, when I’m freaking out and stuck in that state of not knowing, they say it. Calms me down.”

 

“Why's it worse for you?” Danny questioned before wincing at the words. It seemed fairly insensitive, but he was curious as to why it seemed that out of the three, Stiles seemed to struggle the most.

 

“They've got an anchor, something that keeps them tied to the good things and lightness and all that cryptic mumbo-jumbo that Scott's boss likes to spew out. I don't... I mean, I’ve got my dad, but that's not... it's not a good enough anchor, I guess.” Stiles shrugged a little again, idly toying with his cup while glancing over at Danny, who took a drink out of the blue coffee mug in his hands.

 

Danny sighed heavily, ruffling his already sleep-rumpled hair a little. “That's... I mean, that sucks.”

 

Stiles let out a short laugh, smiling a little as he nodded. “Yeah. Well, now you know.”

 

Several moments of silence passed in which the two boys drank out of their cups, and Stiles forced himself to eat something, though it turned his stomach a bit to do so. He wished that it was Tuesday and he could sleep all day. Monday would be a half day of classes, in which he and Danny would turn in their project and then they'd all be sent to random classrooms to chill until it was time to go home. It was a pathetic excuse for a school day, but they did it so that they could be open the correct number of hours as required by the state. Tuesday, however, Tuesday was the start of a break that would last until mid-January. Stiles could not wait. Maybe he'd be able to sleep without the stress of school. Stiles' brow furrowed as he took a drink of his tea, glancing over at Danny only to find the other teen looking at him expectantly, and only then did he realize that Danny had asked him something. “Oh, shit, sorry. Spaced out a bit. What did you say?” he replied, sighing a little as he pushed away his plate.

 

Danny smiled a little in a way that was meant to be relaxing, and idly wet his lips before he said, “The code word. What is it?”

 

Stiles watched Danny closely for several moments before he nodded a little and glanced down at his hands, which he was idly wringing together. “Sourwolf. It's... it's what I called Derek Hale once but not something that would ever come up in normal conversation, so...” Stiles shrugged his shoulders once again, not looking at Danny as or even after he spoke.

 

“Well... okay. I can help with that now.” Danny smiled a little, chuckling slightly when Stiles just sent him a confused expression in response. “If you get confused and they're not around, find me.”

 

That was not something Stiles had ever even toyed with being a possibility. It made him feel... odd. It was not a bad feeling, just something indescribable that he did not really want to think on. “Oh. Yeah. I can... yeah.” Stiles nodded a few times, finally looking over at Danny after another few moments. “Why?”

 

Danny just watched Stiles for a moment, taking only that amount of time to realize that Stiles was wondering why Danny was offering his help. The goalie simply lifted his shoulders in a shrug, smiling softly at Stiles once again as he said, “I can't exactly just leave you to suffer. I’m involved, have been since you passed out at mine; and, well... I want to help.”

 

Stiles let out a breath that he had not realized he was holding, smiling a little as he nodded his head once before taking another drink of his tea.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

When Jackson opened his front door a few hours later to the sound of the doorbell, the last person he had expected to see standing there was Danny (though if he'd paid attention to his other senses, he would have known before he even opened the door). Jackson just blinked a few times at his freshly showered and clean clothed friend, making Danny roll his eyes before shoulder checking Jackson as he pushed his way inside. He had stopped by his own house after talking with Stiles some more and then made his way over to Jackson’s. “So, you're a werewolf,” Danny said casually as he dropped down onto Jackson’s bed after having gone up to the other teen's room.

 

Jackson nodded slowly a few times, shutting the bedroom door before crossing his arms over his chest. “I thought you weren't talking to me,” he said instead of offering any further explanation.

 

“I was at the Stilinskis'. Turned my phone off.” It was not exactly a lie, the ringer had been off; but, Jackson did not need know that Danny had simply needed _time_. “I'm not going to bug you for answers about sophomore year or anything.” Danny smiled slightly at his best friend when Jackson seemed to relax at the statement. “But, I do want to know, whenever you're ready.” Danny nodded once before he gestured toward the bed next to him for Jackson to sit down. “What I am going to demand is that you tell me everything you can share.”

 

Jackson laughed softly, the sound coming out a little shaky as he walked over to sit down next to Danny. Then, he told Danny all about how he found out that McCall was a werewolf; he told his best friend about going to Derek for the bite, and quickly glossed over that things were messed up there for a bit. He then went on to talk about how things did get straightened out and he did finally turn into an actual werewolf before he went to England. “I was not running away,” Jackson insisted with a slight huff; though, they both knew that Danny saw it otherwise. No matter what had happened, Jackson ran. Jackson then told Danny all about everything that had happened in England, about the pack that had taken him in to keep him safe while he was visiting.

 

Their talk was not absent of Danny’s teasing comments, biting words that others might take offense to but Jackson just laughed off. It was how they communicated, after all. Jackson did not do well with over affectionate interactions; so, they compromised by hidden meanings and standing up for one another when they needed it.

 

Danny spent the rest of the weekend at Jackson’s, and come Monday morning, he was in a good mood again. However, that mood dampened slightly when Stiles did not show up for school, but Scott showed up with Stiles' half of the project, smiling apologetically as he told Danny that Stiles was sorry that he would not make it to school that day. “Is he okay?” Danny asked, watching Scott for any indication that he was keeping something.

 

“Sort of,” answered Scott honestly. He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest, glancing down the hall to where Allison and Isaac were talking quietly, their fingers linked between them. His glance only lasted a moment before he looked back to Danny, seemingly debating on whether or not to tell the other teen something. After another moment, Scott nodded once to himself before saying, “Stiles had a really terrible dream last night. He woke up screaming again, but Linden... Linden said there were scratches all over his arm this time. We think, uh... we think he did it to himself in his sleep.”

 

The goalie's brow furrowed a little as he listened to Scott explain. Danny felt a little sick at the information and was practically knocked over with the strength of how much he just wanted to be able to make things better for Stiles. He did not know _how_ , though; and, a part of him doubted that anyone did, if the broken look on Scott's face was anything to go by. “Stiles is stubborn,” Danny said after a moment, clearing his throat a little before he actually spoke. Scott's expression was one that looked like a mix between a confused puppy and someone that just got kicked. “If anyone can figure out a way to get back to normal, it's him. I’m sure he'll be fine.” Optimism. Danny could do that; there was not much else he could do to help, but he felt better knowing that at least he could offer that.

 

Scott chuckled a little at that, nodding slowly a few times before the action ended on a more resolute note. “Yeah, yeah, you're right. Stiles will get through this. Besides, he's got all of us. Right?”

 

Danny stood there quietly, shifting his grip on Stiles' part of their assignment, his other hand shifting the backpack on his shoulder as he watched Scott watching him in equal parts hope and questioning. “Yeah,” answered Danny after another moment, smiling warmly at Scott in a friendly manner that he was known well for. “Yeah, he does.”

 

After classes were over just after noon, Danny found himself once again headed toward the Stilinski house. That day, the sheriff's cruiser was still sitting in the drive when he pulled up to the driveway. Danny parked behind Stiles' Jeep, figuring that the other teen probably was not going to be going anywhere that day, anyway. He left his backpack in his car, and went to the front door, knocking once he got there. Linden opened the door a few moments later, a look of surprise crossing his features for just a second when he saw Danny standing there. “Hello, Danny,” the man said as he stepped aside, gesturing for the teen to come inside. Obviously, Linden had been expecting Isaac or someone. They were all at Deaton's talking to him about the latest development in Stiles' nightmares, though; otherwise, Danny was sure they would have been there.

 

“Hello, sir,” replied Danny with a slight nod and a smile in greeting. “Is Stiles...?”

 

“He's in his room, distracting himself with some movies. I was just about to head to work.” Linden frowned a little, as though he wanted nothing more than to stay home with Stiles; which, Danny figured that was what the man wanted to do, but he had no doubt Stiles convinced him to go. “You're more than welcome to stay, though.”

 

“Thanks.” Danny smiled once again before actually heading up to Stiles' bedroom. He knocked on the frame of the open door, making Stiles look over toward him, not bothering to hide his confusion for a moment. “Heard about what happened.” Danny nodded toward the bandaging wrapped around Stiles' forearm, making Stiles tug down the sleeve of his hoodie to cover it again. Danny guessed Melissa was probably to thank for the medical attention. “Want some company?”

 

Stiles seemed to let out a heavy breath and relax almost instantly, glad that Danny did not try to ask questions. “Yeah,” the teen replied in a tired voice, nodding a few times before shifting over on his bed enough to allow for Danny to join him. They put in _The Avengers_ , and Stiles found that being distracted by movies was actually a lot easier when there was someone there to talk about different things about the film. Danny did not seem to mind the constant conversation, and Stiles found that within a short period of time he was actually smiling a little again. Maybe the day was not as bad as he had thought it was going to be.

 

 

* * *

 

 

He must have fallen asleep again, Danny realized when he glanced over at the clock next to Stiles' bed only to find that it was about three in the morning. Danny frowned a little and glanced over to where Stiles' dark shape could barely be made out in the darkness of the room. Stiles did not seem to be having a nightmare, at least not one that was as bad as the ones before. Then again, Danny had seen Stiles taking the sleeping pills that Melissa had gotten for him. That probably had something to do with it. He did seem a bit tense, however, at least until Danny tentatively reached out and placed a hand on his forearm. Stiles let out a heavy sigh of what seemed to be relief, and he stilled on the bed again. Danny continued to lay there in the darkness, and only pulled his hand away once he was sure that Stiles was fully asleep once more, that time a lot more relaxed.

 

Maybe, Danny considered as he closed his eyes again, laying there next to Stiles, maybe Stiles just needed to know that someone was there next to him, even in the dark. Maybe that would help him. It was just a theory; but, one he would run by Scott later to see if they could try that, even if it meant doing it without Stiles knowing because Danny had a strong suspicion that Stiles would not agree to being monitored. It was with that thought that Danny fell back asleep, not even minding for a moment that he was laying in _Stiles Stilinski's_ bed, something that he had never once thought would even be possible.

 

When Danny woke up once again, the first signs of sunlight was visible from Stiles' bedroom window. The space on the bed next to Danny was cold, though, making Danny sigh with the fact that Stiles had probably been up for a long while by that point. The teen then pushed himself out of the bed, stretching as he stood with a wince. Sleeping in jeans was really uncomfortable. Maybe he should start stashing a change of clothes at the Stilinski residence if he was going to keep falling asleep there. That thought, Danny found, was not as odd as he thought it should have been as he quietly made his way downstairs. He could hear the faint voices of Stiles and Linden in the kitchen. They weren't alone, though. It took Danny a moment to realize that Scott and his mother were in the kitchen as well. “I don't know what else we can do, Linden,” Melissa said quietly, her voice showing more emotion than she tried to show on her face. Danny walked into the kitchen to find Stiles asleep with his head on Melissa’s shoulder, curled up at her side as she shifted her fingers through Stiles' hair. Danny stood awkwardly and smiled slightly when the others seemed to realize that he was there.

 

“I've got some old clothes you can borrow if you want to get out of those things,” Linden offered before he gestured to the breakfast sitting on the counter, telling Danny to help himself.

 

Danny thanked Linden for the offer of clothes, and he nodded a little as the sheriff went off to grab them, though most of his focus stayed on Stiles. The goalie remained quiet for just a moment before he cleared his throat slightly and said, “He seems to sleep better when people are around.” Danny did not miss the way that Scott's brow rose at that comment, but he did not react to it at all. “We fell asleep watching _Avengers_ last night and he didn't wake up screaming, so... I’d take that as a good thing.”

 

Melissa nodded slightly as she rested her head on top of Stiles'. “I've noticed that, too,” she replied. “I think it helps.” Whether or not Stiles would realize that, or even _ask_ for someone to help with that were two completely different stories, however. Maybe Scott could approach that, Danny wondered to himself, only to be distracted by Linden returning with some clothes for Danny to wear, offering the teen a shower as well.

 

Danny took the man up on the offer to shower, and he felt a million times better once he was clean and in clothes that he had not slept in. When Danny made his way back downstairs, Stiles was awake again, playing some kind of video game with Scott while their parents drank coffee and talked in the kitchen. “Hey,” Stiles said with a slight smile once Danny sat down on the couch between him and the arm. “Wanna play?”

 

“Nah, I’ll watch for now,” replied Danny, smiling warmly at Stiles as he relaxed and settled into his seat. He watched as Stiles and Scott raced as different Mario characters, smiling a little to himself as Stiles swore at Scott because the other teen had shot some kind of a shell at him.

 

“Stiles!” Linden scolded from the kitchen, making his son wince and call back an apology, though the smirk on his face seemed anything but sorry.

 

Danny chuckled a little and smiled softly once again, even as Stiles leaned against him slightly while continuing to race Scott, his elbow bumping against Danny’s side every few minutes. Danny quickly found that he really did not mind, even when he did finally plug in the third controller to join the other two in playing.


	5. V: Not Going Anywhere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles struggles even more with the darkness around his heart, and even maybe does something really terrible.

“How'd it happen?” Danny asked as he glanced over the scratches on Stiles' exposed forearm. The other teen shrugged, keeping his gaze on a fixed point at the wall so that he was not looking as Danny added some more antiseptic before wrapping the wounds with a fresh bandage. “Stiles...”

 

The mentioned teen sighed heavily and tugged his arm out of Danny’s grasp as the other teen finished taping the bandaging in place and said, “I don't know, okay? I just woke up and they were there.” Stiles lifted his shoulders in another shrug as he shook his head, eyes falling to rest on his hands in his lap where he idly picked at his chewed-on nails. “I don't know what's happening to me.”

 

Danny frowned as he bent his knees, trying to catch Stiles' gaze. The other boy refused to look at him, though, and Danny stood straight with a sigh of his own. “We'll figure it out.”

 

At those words, Stiles did slowly look up at Danny, his brow furrowing as if he were in deep thought. “You can't know that. It's getting worse. I feel like I’m losing my mind.”

 

Stiles stilled his fingers in his lap when Danny’s hand rested on top of them, the lacrosse player smiling faintly in what Stiles was sure was supposed to be reassuring. “We'll figure it out. I know it.” Danny nodded, smiling a little more honestly when he saw Stiles give a faint nod in response. It was better than nothing. “What do you dream about, Stiles?”

 

“Things,” countered the teen harshly as he yanked his hands out from underneath Danny’s touch, quickly standing up and moving away from the kitchen table. He did not like talking about what he remembered from his nightmares, not even with Scott. Stiles crossed his arms over his chest, clenching his fingers into fists in order to try to stop both hands from shaking. “I don't want to talk about it.”

 

“Maybe talking will help.” Danny spoke cautiously as he took a few steps toward Stiles, though he stopped when he saw his classmate shake his head in response. He frowned faintly at that but did not offer any other words while waiting for Stiles to elaborate or just say _anything_.

 

Stiles shook his head again, clenching and unclenching his fingers under each of his biceps as he kept both arms crossed. “I-I can't.”

 

Danny sighed softly as he watched Stiles but after a moment, he nodded. “C'mon. I bet Scott's starting to get lonely without you.” He smiled a little, nodding toward the doorway of the kitchen before he started to walk back toward the living room.

 

The other teen continued to stand there in the kitchen for a moment before he took a deep breath and followed Danny. The two of them joined Scott on the couch, where they resumed playing a racing video game. Stiles was just thankful that Scott chose to not start asking questions. Though, from the way his best friend was worrying at his lower lip, Stiles was sure that the other teen wanted to.

 

After several more minutes of that, Stiles sighed and tossed aside his controller. “I'm going to bed,” the teen announced as he started to walk toward the stairs.

 

Danny and Scott exchanged worried glances as the later ruffled his hair and sighed heavily. “If you wanna head home, I'll stay with him,” Scott said quietly.

 

Danny’s gaze did not leave the staircase, though he did nod a few times before finally saying, “Yeah, okay. Let me know if you guys need help or anything.”

 

“Thanks, man,” Scott said with a smile, reaching over to squeeze Danny’s shoulder.

 

Once Scott quickly made his way upstairs to let Stiles know he was crashing there, Danny got up and tugged on his jacket. Then, he made his way out to his car. After he got it started, Danny just sat there for a moment, taking a deep breath as he ran his fingers through his hair several times. “Fuck,” he swore under his breath, and then he started to drive himself the short distance to his own home.

 

Danny’s brow furrowed after he parked in the drive and walked up to the front porch to find Jackson sitting on the front steps. “What're you doing here?” Danny asked. He was not upset that Jackson was there or anything; just surprised.

 

“Been waiting for you,” replied Jackson with a lift of his shoulders as he idly toyed with his phone. “Where've you been?”

 

“The Stilinski's. Something's really wrong with Stiles.” Danny frowned as he spoke, crossing his arms over his chest while absentmindedly toying with his key ring with one hand. “He hurt himself in his sleep the other night.”

 

Jackson frowned a little, nodding as he stood up before nodding his head back toward the house. “Wanna talk about it?”

 

The goalie seemed to take a few moments to think about it before nodding as he started to walk up the stairs. “Yeah, c'mon. Mom's making dinner tonight.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Scott sat up with a slight gasp for air in Stiles' bed. His t-shirt stuck to his front from sweat that was much too sticky to be comfortable. The teen struggled to remember what his dream had been about, brow furrowing a little. There was something that had seemed so important, so urgent in his dream; but, for the life of him, Scott could not remember what it was. All he could remember was that whatever had been happening in his dream, there was a lot of blood. “Stiles?” Scott asked groggily once he realized that his best friend was not laying in the bed net to him. The other teen's spot was cold, making Scott's brow furrow a little as he scrambled out of the bed. “Stiles!” He struggled to concentrate enough to try to listen for his best friend's heartbeat, but as he rushed down the stairs he heard nothing besides his own.

 

The sound of tapping brought Scott to the back door, which stood open, the wind causing it to tap against the wall behind it. “Stiles!” Scott called as he rushed out off the back porch, standing in the middle of the Stilinski backyard. The teen turned in circles, hoping to catch sight of something, _anything_ that could have told him where Stiles had gone. “Stiles!” His voice got carried away in the wind that started to pick up in strength, causing the trees all around to sway where they stood.

 

With shaking hands, Scott quickly pulled out his cell phone to dial the one number that swirled around his head; Linden's. The sheriff picked up on the third ring with a tired and gruff, “What, Scott?”

 

“Stiles is gone,” the teen barely managed to force the words out, airy and nearly carried away on the wind.

 

“What?” Scott could hear the man pushing his chair away from the desk and what sounded to be Linden grabbing his jacket.

 

Scott nodded, even though Linden could not see him. “I woke up and Stiles was gone. The back door was open.”

 

“Call _everyone_.”

 

Once again, Scott nodded at the instruction, frowning a little as Linden hung up the phone without further word. Instead of calling, Scott quickly sent out a text to Danny, Allison, Isaac, Lydia, Derek, and even Jackson telling them to get to the Stilinski house as soon as possible. He did call Derek when the man did not reply; but there was no answer. Everyone else said they would be there soon, and within ten minutes all of them, Linden, and his own mother were arriving at the house. Linden and Melissa rode in together. Scott just watched silently as Linden began directing search groups. They would go in pairs, working from the Stilinski house outward.

 

Scott and Lydia walked into the woods behind the Stilinski house, while Melissa and John walked north. Allison and Isaac would check to the south, and Danny would go with Jackson toward the west. Danny worried at his lower lip as he and Jackson walked. Neither one of them said anything for several long minutes until Jackson said, “I think he's gone this way.” The teen nodded in front of them, his brow slightly furrowed as if he were concentrating overly hard on something. “I can't tell if it's recent or not.”

 

“Let's just look,” Danny stated with a frown as he looked around them, shoving his hands into his heavy jacket pockets as they started to walk. It seemed so strange to him that only a few minutes prior he and Jackson were carelessly playing a snowboarding video game in his bedroom, laughing and joking around while Stiles was out wandering around alone somewhere. Danny pulled his phone out and checked for a response to his text to Stiles, just in case. Like with everyone else's attempts, all messages went without being responded to. “It's cold.” Danny’s words were mumbled, mostly to himself while Jackson seemed to be struggling to hear something, anything that could be of use to them.

 

Jackson’s brow furrowed a little, and after a moment, he shrugged and said, “I hadn't really noticed.” Unless Stiles had thought to pull on a coat before wandering outside, he guessed the other teen probably was noticing a lot more than he was. Maybe. “Stiles?” He raised his voice enough to be heard at a distance. Maybe the other boy was hurt somewhere near-by, able to respond or something. Jackson did not know, and he was trying his best to keep the worry off his face. Danny knew it was there, though. “We'll find Stiles, Danny.”

 

Danny stumbled slightly over his own feet and he frowned with an awkward laugh as he looked over at his best friend. “Alright. Why the reassurance? Pretty sure I knew that.”

 

The other teen lifted his shoulders in a shrug as he glanced toward Danny. “Dunno. You two have been getting closer.”

 

Danny did not really have a response to that, so he kept quiet, his gaze determinedly in front of him. He was not sure he liked what his friend was trying to hint at. After a moment, though, Danny just sighed and said, “Yeah.”

 

The two of them fell into silence after that, each one keeping an eye out for anything that could direct them to wherever Stiles had wandered off to. The longer they were out searching, the more the wind picked up around them, making Danny tug his jacket tighter around himself. He texted the others every few minutes for updates; but, nobody had seen _anything_ to indicate where Stiles had gone off to. Danny worried at his lower lip as he and Jackson stopped at one of the many buildings in the downtown district, where they had ended up, his friend doing a quick sweep of the building only to exit with a shake of his head. The crease in Jackson’s forehead was what clued Danny in to the fact that Jackson really was growing more worried about Stiles, even if the other teen did not show it otherwise. “It's going to start raining,” Jackson mumbled with a glance up to the dark sky above them.

 

“I'm going to keep looking,” replied Danny as he continued walking. Jackson stayed back by the door of the building he had just exited for only a few moments longer before he quickly hurried to follow Danny, matching pace with him once they were side-by-side again.

 

Cold drops of rain just started to fall when Danny’s phone started to ring, startling them both (Jackson jumped, though he would deny it if asked). Danny smiled faintly at Jackson and answered the call, kicking at a rock as he kept walking and said, “Hello?”

 

“Danny?”

 

The sound of Stiles' scratchy voice made the goalie stumble to a stop, his breath catching in his chest for a moment. “Stiles? Where are you?”

 

“I don't know...” Danny could practically see the way that Stiles' brow furrowed as the other teen glanced around him, looking for something to indicate where he was. “An old house, maybe? It's dark.”

 

“Ask him what he hears,” mumbled Jackson as he nudged Danny slightly with his elbow.

 

Danny nodded in response to Jackson as he ran his free hand through his hair. “Stiles, focus for me. What do you hear?”

 

Danny could hear the sounds of Stiles moving around a little, maybe pacing. “Uhm, I don't know. Rain. It's raining. There's... nothing else besides me.” Stiles' voice was slightly unsteady along with the sounds of a stumbled step. “It's not a house. The walls are stone. How did I get here?”

 

“Sleepwalking.” Danny wet his lips idly as he started to walk again. “Stiles, try to find a door, an exit... something. You need to get outside, figure out where you are so we can come get you. We're all out searching.”

 

“Everyone?”

 

He wanted to frown at the slightly broken tone in Stiles' voice, sighing slightly as he nodded though the other boy could not see it. “Yeah. Your dad's looking with Melissa, Scott and Lydia, Allison and Isaac... I’m with Jackson.”

 

Stiles gave a short laugh at that, and Danny could practically picture the slight lift at the corner of Stiles' mouth. “Hiya, Jackson.”

 

“Stiles,” was all that Jackson offered in response, but Danny could see the way that his best friend was more at ease now that they at least knew that Stiles was okay.

 

“Oh, god...” Stiles breathed after another few moments. “Danny, shit... fuck, dude. There's... I mean... I think I’m going to be sick.”

 

“Stiles, what's going on?” replied the elder teen. Danny picked up his pace a little as he walked, though he was not entirely sure what direction he needed to be heading. He felt as though he could not just stand there, though. He did not like the helpless feeling that weighed down on his chest.

 

Stiles' breaths were uneven and a little to quick to be okay on the other end of the line. “My hands. There's blood. Oh my god. Danny...”

 

“Where _are_ you?” Danny demanded, cutting off Stiles' panicked rambling about the blood that was apparently on his hands.

 

“Uhm... the cemetery. I’m at the cemetery.”

 

Jackson let out a heavy sigh and nodded a little in the direction that the town cemetery was. They were only a few blocks away. “Jackson and I are almost there. Stay on the line with me, Stiles.”

 

“I feel dizzy.”

 

Danny swore under his breath, instructing Jackson to text the others in order to let them know where Stiles was. “Just breathe, okay? Take a deep breath.” Danny listened as the sound of Stiles struggling to do as he was told came over the line. Somewhere in the near-distance, Danny heard the sound of a siren turning on. The sheriff was coming. Once at the cemetery, Danny quickly looked around, though he soon followed Jackson’s lead when his friend seemed to know the way immediately. “Stiles, we're almost there, okay?”

 

By that point, the rain was falling a little more steadily, though it could still only be considered a light sprinkle. It made Danny shake in his jacket, though he did not notice it as he continued talking to Stiles on the phone instead. The moment the other teen came into his line of sight, Danny hung up the phone and pushed past Jackson to run to Stiles' side. He shrugged out of his jacket and pulled it around Stiles while glancing the other teen over for any signs of injury. “Stiles...” he said quietly, almost drowned out by the weather around them.

 

“I don't know whose blood it is,” Stiles mumbled, his gaze not leaving his fingers for a moment until Danny took both Stiles' hands between his own. “I don't know what happened. I-I don't...”

 

“It's okay, we'll figure this out. I'm sure--”

 

“This is _not_ okay! I hurt someone! I...” Stiles trailed off his words when Danny silently tugged him into a hug. The goalie squeezed him gently and Stiles could do nothing but accept the gesture, practically sagging against Danny as he hid his face in the elder teen's shoulder. Jackson seemed to be keeping watch around them, or looking for signs of what could have happened, if there were any there. “I don't know what to do.”

 

Danny frowned a little as he shook his head slightly, not removing his arms from around Stiles though he looked over his shoulder to Jackson. His friend shook his head in indication that he had not found anything of note around them. Danny sighed softly, gently squeezing Stiles once again. “Everything's going to be fine, Stiles. I’m sure it's just...”

 

His attempted encouragement was cut off when the sound of a car stopping near-by made all three teens look to see Melissa and Linden rushing out of the sheriff's cruiser toward them. “Stiles!” Linden's voice held every ounce of relief that he felt at finding his son, and he seemed to relax as he quickly pulled Stiles into a nearly crushing hug once he had reached the teen and Danny had stepped aside.

 

“Dad...” Stiles' voice was muffled by his father's shoulder, but he did not pull away any. He seemed more relaxed with his father there, but he was still shaking. The teen squeezed his eyes shut tightly and silently wished for all of it to just go away.

 

“Let's get him home,” said Melissa softly as she walked over to them, running her hand through Stiles' hair at the back of his head in what was meant to be a soothing manner.

 

Stiles shook his head at that, quickly stepping away from the both of them. He held his hands out slightly, showing the blood on his shaking hands as the others pulled up in Lydia's car. “I-I don't know what happened,” Stiles said in a shaky, scratchy voice. He sounded as though he had been yelling all night. “Dad...”

 

Linden's mouth was set in a firm line, his eyes trained on his son's hands for only a moment before he nodded once. “We're getting you home now, son,” Linden said in a warm tone that almost seemed to make Stiles flinch. “Then, I’ll go back out and try to figure what happened.”

 

“What if I killed someone?” Stiles' question hung in the air, and he idly wet his lips as he glanced around to everyone. Scott seemed completely convinced that there was no way Stiles would have done that, if his expression was anything to go by; and, Jackson’s was a look of complete understanding and empathy. It was a strange thing to see, but Stiles seemed to smile ever so faintly in the other teen's direction.

 

“Stiles, this isn't you,” said Scott, breaking through the silence of the others as he shook his head several times. “I'm sure everyone's fine. Let's just... get out of the rain.”

 

Stiles sighed heavily but nodded a few times as he said, “Yeah, let's do that.”

 

Several minutes later, they all found themselves back at the Stilinski residence. Stiles had not stopped shaking yet, though he had seemed to relax a little when Danny had taken his hand in order to tug him toward the sheriff's cruiser. Neither teen let go of the other throughout the drive or even after they had gotten into the house. “I'll make some tea, sweetheart,” Melissa said with a warm smile in Stiles' direction before she disappeared into the kitchen, Scott and Allison close behind her. Isaac dragged Lydia and Jackson upstairs to help him look for some dry clothes for everyone; the girls could deal with borrowing men's clothing for a short while. Linden, Stiles, and Danny found themselves sitting in the living room on the couch, none of them minding that they were getting the furniture wet.

 

The blood had washed off of Stiles' hands, but the teen kept looking at them as though the blood was going to return out of nowhere. He let out a shaky sob of a breath when Linden finally wrapped both arms around his son and tugged Stiles into a tight hug. The teen curled up against his father's side, taking comfort in the silent embrace without letting go of Danny’s hand. “I'm scared,” Stiles said quietly, the words almost inaudible to either Linden or Danny. However, the shared look of sadness and fear between them told each that the other had indeed heard the words, and that neither of them had any idea at all what could be done.

 

Stiles did not really say anything else for the rest of the day, even after everyone had showered and changed into dry clothing. The TV was turned on for background noise, and Stiles watched as Isaac, Allison, Lydia, Scott, and Jackson played rather vigorous rounds of Uno. Linden and Melissa made dinner for everyone, and nobody seemed to be willing to bring up the thing that Stiles was most worried about; what had happened while Stiles was missing. They all knew they should probably be figuring it out, but for that moment, they were all more worried about making sure that Stiles was going to be okay and that he knew that none of them had any plans on doing anything but being there for him; even Jackson.

 

“I'm tired,” Stiles mumbled after a while, his head resting on Danny’s shoulder where the two of them sat watching their friends.

 

Danny nodded a little and gently squeezed Stiles' hand, having taken hold of the other teen once again after they had both showered and changed. “I'll go upstairs with you, if you want,” offered the goalie with a faint but honest smile that Stiles returned with a nod.

 

Stiles then got up and said a quiet good-night to his father and the others before heading upstairs, and Danny soon followed him, promising that he would let Linden know if something happened. When Danny got to Stiles' bedroom, Stiles was swallowing one of the pills that Melissa had gotten for him. Stiles was extremely grateful that Danny did not ask how he was, or ask any questions about what was happening as the two of them lay down in the bed. There was a good distance between the two of them, though they lay facing one another. “Your eyes look bruised,” Danny mumbled after a few moments, frowning faintly as he reached out to gently brush his fingers against the dark coloring under Stiles' eyes. It took him a moment to realize what exactly he was doing, and he quickly pulled away even though Stiles did not seem to mind the touch at all. “Sorry.”

 

The other teen smiled faintly, shrugging a little with a soft sigh as he settled down into the bed a little more. “Don't let me leave?” Stiles mumbled after a moment, closing his eyes with a heavy sigh.

 

“Stiles...” Danny sighed heavily, frowning a little though he nodded when Stiles looked at him again. “Yeah, alright. I can do that. Just get some sleep, okay?” Danny hesitated only for a moment before he reached out to place a hand on Stiles' bicep, remembering how in the other boy's sleep the touch seemed to make him more at ease. “I'm not going anywhere.”


	6. VI: Poisoned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are going to get worse before they get better.

He woke to the faint sounds of voices from downstairs, making his brow furrow a little. Danny then looked to where Stiles was laying and sighed inaudibly in relief to find the other teen still asleep. Stiles definitely needed the rest. Danny stayed there for only a moment longer before he quietly shifted out of the bed and made his way downstairs. When he got to the first floor, Danny followed the sound of voices to find Scott and Linden sitting at the kitchen table. “Hey,” Danny all-but-mumbled as he sat down in one of the empty chairs. “What's going on?”

 

“How's Stiles?” Scott asked instead of answering the question, glancing over toward the staircase with a worried frown on his face.

 

“Sleeping.” Danny idly ran a hand through his hair, sighing softly with a glance over to the stairs of his own. He was glad that Stiles was still asleep, it was a good thing; but, he was still stressed about the entire situation. They all were, and Danny knew that much.

 

Linden nodded absentmindedly, twisting the coffee cup he had on the table around slightly. “We didn't find anything. No one's missing or injured in a way that would explain the blood,” Linden explained with a shake of his head. He looked older, more tired than he should, and it made Danny want to give the guy a hug. Instead, the teen just sat there. “We ran into Derek, he's not heard of anyone missing, either.”

 

Danny nodded at the information, crossing his arms as he rested them on the top of the table. Like the other two sitting with him, Danny was not sure at all what to do. They all wanted to help Stiles, but none of them knew _how_. Danny opened his mouth to say something, but the words died out as a blood-curtailing scream came from up the stairs. Danny immediately sprang up from his chair and all but sprinted up the stairs, Linden and a wolfed-out Scott not far behind.

 

They found Stiles in his bedroom, sitting upright on the bed as he screamed, fingers twisted into the bedding beneath him to the point they were white from lack of circulation. Danny reached out and placed a gentle hand on the side of Stiles' face, trying to get the other teen to look at him. “Stiles! Stiles, look at me. You're okay,” Danny insisted as his other hand rested on Stiles' shoulder. “It was a dream.”

 

The screams slowly stopped as Danny sat down next to Stiles and pulled him into a hug. Stiles hid his face and tears against Danny’s chest as he shook in the other teen's arms. He kept mumbling a repeated apology that had Danny looking at Linden at a loss of what to do. Scott stood in the doorway behind Linden, his features back to normal though he looked as though he were barely holding himself back from rushing to Stiles' side. None of them were sure how much longer they could deal with everything.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Stiles and Danny ended up going for a walk when Stiles could not get back to sleep. Neither teen said anything as they walked slowly, arms brushing as they walked. Stiles kept his gaze upward, toward the stars that were scattered through the sky while Danny looked ahead, glancing at Stiles every few moments. “I'm okay,” Stiles said after a while, letting out a heavy breath and looking to Danny. “Really. I’m okay. I’m just... adjusting.”

 

“Stiles... this is... this is _not_ okay,” replied Danny with a shake of his head. “You shouldn't have to be dealing with this; and, I’m scared for you.”

 

The other teen laughed slightly, in a slightly bitter way, nudging Danny with his shoulder. “It's not me you should be scared for.”

 

“Yeah, well...” Danny shrugged slightly and wrapped his arm around Stiles' shoulders, drawing the other teen closer to his side. “I am, anyway.”

 

Stiles smiled a little, ducking his head to look at his feet as they walked. “Thanks for being here, Danny. It's... yeah, thanks.” Stiles knew that if Danny had not have volunteered to walk with him that Scott would have done so in a heartbeat. He was kind of glad that Scott was giving him some space, though. As glad as he was that his best friend was continuing to be there and be supportive, he hated Scott seeing him like he was. He did not want the other teen to ever remember him like he was.

 

“Stop it,” instructed Danny after a moment, gently squeezing Stiles' shoulders. “Whatever you're thinking about. Stop. We're going to figure this out, Stiles.” They _had_ to. Danny sighed inaudibly as they walked, glad that at least for a moment Stiles seemed to relax as they walked. Neither one said anything else as the sky slowly turned lighter in the distance, but they kept walking.

 

They walked until the beginnings of sunrise could be seen over the treetops and Danny got a text from Scott asking if he knew where Stiles was.

 

**With me. We'll be back soon.**

 

Danny sent the text to Scott and started to lead Stiles back in the direction of the Stilinski house, his arm still around the other teen's shoulders. “C'mon, let's head back,” Danny suggested. Stiles simply nodded in response, resting his head on Danny’s shoulder. The walk back to the house was quiet, and by the time they got back the sun was visible through the treeline in the east. Danny took his arm from around Stiles' shoulders once they got to the house, though he did absentmindedly take a hold of the other teen's hand as they walked inside.

 

“Hey, kids,” Linden said with a slight smile when he met the two teens in the front hallway. “Mel and I are making breakfast for everyone. Want some?”

 

Stiles shook his head a little before gesturing toward the stairs. “I think I’m gonna go take a shower,” he said with a tired sigh. He smiled a little when Danny squeezed his hand gently before they let go of one another and Stiles made his way upstairs.

 

“I'll help you guys,” offered Danny before following Linden into the kitchen, where Melissa already was. Scott and Allison sat at the table with a cup of coffee each. “Where's everyone else?”

 

“They went to go talk to Derek,” Allison told Danny, hiding a yawn behind her hand. “We're hoping he might have some idea of what's wrong with Stiles.” She glanced up at the ceiling when they heard the sounds of the shower upstairs turning on, and she frowned a little as her gaze returned to her coffee cup. “I hate not being able to help him.”

 

Allison smiled faintly when Scott placed a hand on her shoulder. “I'm sure we'll figure it out soon,” Scott stated with an optimistic smile. Danny nodded absentmindedly in agreement as he helped Melissa with making some scrambled eggs. However they all silently agreed on one thing. They hated having to _wait_ until they could figure something out.

 

Stiles eventually returned downstairs with the others after a long shower that left his skin slightly red from the elevated temperatures of the water. It made Linden frown slightly as his son made himself some tea, but the sheriff said nothing on the subject. He just remained quiet as Scott spoke rapidly and animatedly about some kittens that had come into the clinic recently. “They even like me!” Scott insisted with one of his goofy grins that made even Stiles smile a little, which only in turn made Scott grin, if possible, even more.

 

He could tell that Stiles was starting to get antsy from their complete _lack_ of information or ideas of what to do, and did his best friend's duty of distracting the other teen with a promise of a video game spree. Allison and Danny simply watched, talking quietly among themselves. Allison leaned against Danny, stretching out where they were on the floor in front of the couch that Scott and Stiles occupied. It took Danny several minutes to even realize that he was being used as a human recliner by Allison, but he found that he honestly did not mind it. He found comfort in being close to someone else who was just as lost and confused as he was. It was almost sobering and calming in a way that Danny could not explain.

 

After a while, Danny rested his head against Stiles' knee, causing the other teen to jump slightly at the unexpected contact; but, after that, Stiles relaxed slightly and he eventually began to play with Danny’s hair while Scott chose new stages for them or would jump up to grab drinks or snacks from the kitchen for everyone. Danny closed his eyes at the soothing action, smiling softly to himself before tilting his head back enough to look up and smile slightly at Stiles, who smiled in response. “Allison's asleep,” Stiles all-but-mumbled, nodding his head slightly in the sleeping brunette's direction.

 

Danny dropped his gaze to where Allison’s head was on his shoulder before he shrugged the other one. “Didn't notice,” he replied quietly before shaking his head a little. “Don't mind.”

 

“I'm glad you're here, Danny.” Stiles took a breath and opened his mouth to say something else, but his attention was pulled to the side when Scott collapsed onto the couch next to him with a fresh bowl of chips.

 

 

* * *

 

 

That night, everyone but Scott and Melissa reluctantly left. Linden had to go into the station to pull an overnight shift, and everyone else had parents who insisted they needed to spend some time at home. Jackson’s parents were completely shocked to find out where their son had been. Apparently, they had simply thought he had been at Danny’s the entire time until they had called only to find out that neither Danny nor Jackson had been there. Danny’s departure was the most reluctant of the lot, and he only left once Scott had quietly and subtly promised him that he would keep a close eye on Stiles. “He'll be fine,” Scott insisted, squeezing Danny’s shoulder a little. “Promise. You'll be the second person I tell if something happens.” It went without mention that Linden would be the first.

 

“Yeah, okay,” Danny finally said with a slight sigh and a nod, running his fingers through his hair. “This is ridiculous. Stiles doesn't deserve this.”

 

“No, but he's got us.” Scott smiled at Danny again, nodding once before he pulled away to go help his mother put away the remnants of dinner.

 

Danny let out a breath he did not realize he had started to hold as he walked into the living room where Stiles sat on the couch, idly toying with the strings of his hoodie. He twisted the white strands around his fingers until he could no longer do so, only to uncoil the strings and do it again. Stiles was anxious, unsteady in a way he did not want to admit. However, the last time he had been without everyone around him overnight... Stiles shuddered at the thought. “Lydia's bringing donuts for everyone in the morning,” Danny said as he sat down next to Stiles on the couch. Stiles nodded, but said nothing as he continued to fidget and toy with the strings. The action only stopped when Danny reached up and took the string away from Stiles' hand closest to him. When he laced his fingers with Stiles', gently squeezing, the exhausted teen let out a heavy breath and closed his eyes. “Scott's not going to leave your side, you know.”

 

“No, I know,” replied Stiles with a nod, idly wetting his lips. He did not need to say that he was not worried about someone being there per say. He was more scared of what he might to; he did not trust himself for a moment. The more of his friends around him there was, the less likely he would be able to actually hurt someone. “Derek's leaving town again. He's got some contacts or something, someone who might know more than Deaton has told us.”

 

“Hey, stop, okay? Take a deep breath. Just enjoy some time with your best friend, yeah? S'been a while since you've hung out with Scott by yourself.” Danny smiled a little and nudged Stiles with his shoulder. “Have some fun. You've earned it.”

 

Stiles could not explain the complete sense of dread that filled him after Danny left. He tried to focus on video games with Scott, even managing to laugh and smile some more at his best friend's antics. Scott truly was the greatest friend, Stiles decided when eventually he ended up practically falling asleep with his head on Scott's lap as they watched mindless comedies on the television. Melissa was asleep curled up in the chair, her hand propping her head up and her curls falling into her face. It was quiet, calm, and eventually Stiles fell asleep.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Stiles!” he woke up to the sound of his name from somewhere in the distance. It made his brow furrow as he curled up tighter into a ball, trying to fight of consciousness. He did not want to wake up, a sick sinking feeling filling him at the mere thought. However streams of sunlight falling across his face made it harder and harder to stay asleep. “Stiles, where are you?”

 

That made Stiles sit up with a soft gasp. He immediately moved backward until his back hit the wall of the... cave he was in, which made his brow furrow once he realized where he was. He was not sure how he had gotten there. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep on Scott's lap. Stiles' hands shook as he looked them over. There was no blood but his own, and his knuckles were bruised, scraped as though he had been hitting something that had no give to it. “Stiles!” came another voice, still distant but a little closer.

 

He tried to call out, to say something, but his voice did not want to cooperate. With shaking limbs, Stiles used the wall to stand up, nearly hitting his head on the top of the small cave. He then made his way outside, squinting at the brightness of the sun and holding a hand up to try to block the light. “Stiles!” was all the warning he got before he suddenly had an armful of Lydia clinging tightly to him. “Are you okay?” She quickly pulled back enough to look Stiles over, pursing her lips at the tattered state of his clothing, especially around the knees.

 

“I'm fine,” Stiles managed to say in a slightly shaky, hoarse voice. “Scott?”

 

Lydia frowned slightly as she took a step back and smoothed out the front of her skirt. “C'mon, let's go find the others. They're worried about you.” Lydia managed a faint smile as she started to walk in the direction the other voices were coming from. “I found him. He's okay!” Lydia flicked her hair back out of her face as she walked, glancing over her shoulder to make sure that Stiles was following.

 

He practically stumbled to a stop when Lydia quit walking upon finding the others. Danny reached out and helped steady him, which Stiles appreciated but did not comment on. “Where's Scott?” Stiles asked after a moment, seeing that his best friend and Allison weren't there. Nobody said anything, they just started to lead Stiles toward the cars, which were quite a ways off. He tugged his arm out of Danny’s grasp, nearly making them both fall over. “Where is _Scott_?”

 

“He's at the house, kiddo,” Linden said with a sigh after several long moments of silence. Stiles watched his father as the man seemed to be weighing his words. The teen wanted to tear his hair out as he glanced around the group, wanting someone, _anyone_ to tell him what happened and why they all seemed so hesitant, almost wary.

 

“He's still healing,” said Danny after it became aware no one else was going to speak up, causing Stiles to quickly look toward the goalie.

 

“Wh-what do you mean _still healing_?” Stiles shuddered slightly and crossed his arms over his chest, trying to keep his breathing steady and slow.

 

“Wolfsbane,” Lydia offered, making Stiles' wandering gaze land on her and stay there as she tried her hardest not to fidget under the gaze. “Y-- _someone_ poisoned Scott with wolfsbane last night. That's... that's all we know.”

 

Stiles idly wet his dry lips, dropping his hands to his sides and clenching his fists to keep them from shaking. “I poisoned Scott?”

 

“We don't _know_ that,” insisted Jackson, the attempt at calming Stiles startling the teen enough to work. For the moment, anyway.

 

Stiles nodded slowly, clenching and unclenching his fists. “I want to see him.” Stiles nodded again, mostly to himself that time, as he looked to his dad. “Please?”

 

Nobody said a word as Stiles finally let his dad continue to lead him to the cars. It was eerily silent in the woods, and Stiles shuddered a little at a cool breeze from the north. He picked at a hangnail mindlessly as he walked, trying to keep from thinking too hard on anything that was going on. His breathing became a little more unsteady the closer to his home that he got, and he inched away when Danny attempted to touch his shoulder. Danny tried to not take it personally, but it hurt a little. The teen bit his lip lightly to keep himself quiet. There were more important things going on, after all.

 

By the time they got to the Stilinski residence, Stiles was all but shaking in his seat. He seemed paler than normal and looked as though he was seconds away from bolting from everyone. “He's inside,” Danny urged quietly after several minutes. That time, Stiles did not move away when Danny’s hand landed on his own.

 

Stiles nodded, but just sat there for several moments before he gently squeezed Danny’s hand in his own. He continued to sit there for several long moments, before he finally got out of the car, letting go of Danny’s hand as he went. Everyone else stayed out by the cars, and Stiles swore he heard Lydia saying something about dragging them all to the grocery store to get things for dinner, if only to give Stiles and Scott some privacy. Isaac seemed reluctant, but he got into Lydia's car, anyway.

 

Stiles was almost to the front door when Allison came outside. She smiled softly at Stiles and stopped to give the pale teen a quick hug before she continued over to where the others were. He turned to watch the others as they headed out, and he took a deep breath, trying to still his shaking hands as he started inside. Stiles did not even make it to the living room before Scott appeared in the doorway. “I'm okay,” Scott insisted as he quickly tugged Stiles into a tight embrace.

 

The other teen shook in his hold, but just stood there until the words sank in. Stiles eventually nodded several times and wrapped his arms around his best friend, apologizing several times over under his breath. He squeezed his eyes shut and hid his face in Scott's shoulder. “It wasn't you,” Scott insisted without letting Stiles go even slightly, needing the reassurance just as much as Stiles did. “It's not you.”

 


	7. VII: The Calm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are calm, and okay for a while. If only for a while...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got my computer back! So, hopefully I'll be able to post more regularly.

“I poisoned Scott,” Stiles said, his voice broken and nearly inaudible as Danny came into his room that evening after everyone finally returned to the Stilinski house. Stiles did not feel like facing everyone, so he had slipped upstairs to his bedroom after telling Scott why. His best friend had looked like he was going to argue before finally nodding with a faint smile. Even after spending hours at Scott's side, each one reassuring the other that they were okay, Stiles felt sick to his stomach and shaky.

 

“You don't know that,” was the statement that Danny finally settled on as he crossed the room to sit down on the bed next to Stiles, frowning a little when the other teen shifted away from him slightly.

 

Stiles could not keep from laughing bitterly at the statement, which only made him feel worse. Danny was just trying to be helpful. “I highly doubt his mother was the one to do it, Danny. Really only leaves one option.” Stiles gestured to himself slightly with a vague wave of a hand, which Danny took in his own before Stiles set it down.

 

He hesitantly looked at Danny in the eyes, wanting nothing more than to curl up in the corner of the room. It almost hurt even more when he found no trace of anger or blame in Danny’s eyes. The other teen simply looked worried. “Scott's your brother. _You_ would never hurt him, Stiles.”

 

He was not entirely sure the thought of something else controlling him to hurt Scott made it any better, though that was apparently the on-going theory. The only question was; what _was_ it? Stiles idly wet his lips and shrugged a little. Instead of responding to the statement, Stiles said, “Maybe you should go join the others downstairs. I want you to go downstairs.”

 

“Are you just saying that because you're worried about hurting me, or because you really want to be alone?” Danny fixed his gaze on Stiles, not even making an attempt at moving until he got an honest answer.

 

Stiles opened his mouth to answer, only to shut it again and take a deep breath as he absentmindedly squeezed Danny’s hand. “I don't want you to go,” Stiles answered honestly after several long moments. “It's better when you're here. I don't feel so...” He trailed off, unable to think of the words to describe exactly how he felt either when Danny was there or he was not.

 

“I'm not going anywhere,” replied Danny shaking his head a little. He then tugged Stiles closer by his hand, letting go in order to pull Stiles the rest of the way into a hug. He did not let go even when the other teen remained tense in his arms, and smiled faintly when Stiles slowly started to relax, his head resting on Danny’s shoulder.

 

Stiles was not sure why being around Danny made things feel okay again; but, by that point, he was too exhausted to even try questioning it. Danny did not seem to mind, either, so Stiles guessed it was okay. For now, anyway. After several minutes, Danny lay back on the bed, pulling Stiles back with him, who did not protest at all. He just wrapped an arm around Danny and continued to stay close, head still on the goalie's shoulder. “Have they heard anything from Derek?” Stiles mumbled several minutes later, closing his eyes at the feeling of Danny toying with his hair as the other teen had seen Melissa and Linden do before.

 

“Don't think so,” replied Danny quietly with a slight shake of his head. “Someone would have come and said something if so.”

 

Stiles nodded slightly in response, idly twisting his fingers into the material of Danny’s shirt. “Thank you for being here, Danny.”

 

The elder teen smiled faintly, ducking his head enough to press a kiss to the top of Stiles' head before mumbling, “Wouldn't be anywhere else, Stiles.”

 

Neither one was sure how they had managed to get from barely talking to where they were, but neither one was really questioning it, either. Stiles was too tired to really make a deal about it, otherwise he definitely would have. Because this was _Danny_ , and he was just... well, he was just Stiles. People like Danny did not hang out with people like him. It was against protocol. Then again, according to all high school rules, Lydia and Allison probably should not care about him, either; so, there was that. “What're you thinking about?” questioned Danny after a while, his fingers still idly shifting through the hair at the back of Stiles' head.

 

“Nothing, just... I like this, being here with you, I mean,” Stiles said with a slight nod, lifting up onto his arm enough to look at Danny, smiling slightly. He did not think he _deserved_ to be smiling right then, but it was hard not to when Danny was smiling at him as well.

 

Danny did not say anything, but he leaned up slightly and Stiles swore that the other teen was going to kiss him; but, the sound of Stiles' door opening interrupted them, making Stiles turn and sit up fully to see who it was. He smiled faintly when he saw it was Scott again. “Hey, guys,” Scott said with a slight smile, though his brow was furrowed slightly as his eyes darted between the two of them and Danny sat back up. “I know you didn't wanna deal with everyone, Stiles, but we've got pizza downstairs. You should come eat.”

 

Stiles seemed ready to argue, still not sure if he could face the scrutiny of everyone's gaze; but, Danny gently squeezed his hand and nodded a little before saying, “C'mon, Stiles. Let's go eat. I'm sure we can commandeer the TV and watch the second _Star Trek_ movie we never finished.”

 

Stiles smiled a little at that and nodded a little before the two of them stood up and followed Scott downstairs. Scott immediately fell into a conversation that was more him talking at Stiles about goings on at the animal clinic. Scott was back to his normal self, though, and that made Stiles relax a little, even if there was a part of him that was still terrified of what might come next.

 

* * *

 

 

Everyone else was asleep. Scott, Allison, and Isaac were a tangled mass on the couch with Jackson and Lydia asleep on the floor, hands clasped between them. Derek nodded off in one of the arm chairs after having returned without any news but a promise of letting them know if any of his contacts came across something. Linden was in his room, and Melissa shared the bed with him, though there was an awkward distance between them. Stiles and Danny, however, lay awake in Stiles' bed. “I can't close my eyes,” Stiles mumbled, frowning a little even as Danny’s fingers gently brushed along his jawline. “Bad things happen when I go to sleep, Danny. I hurt people and I ca-can't...”

 

Stiles let out a heavy, shaky breath as Danny sighed, leaning in to press a kiss to Stiles' forehead. “Nothing's going to happen, yeah? I'll be right here with you,” Danny promised.

 

Stiles was not sure that made anything any better, though. What if he hurt Danny? That thought made his stomach clench and he thoughtlessly pressed in to Danny, wrapping an arm around him. Danny turned to lay on his side more, facing Stiles completely as the other teen ducked his head enough to rest underneath Danny’s chin. “Sleep, Stiles,” Danny said quietly after several moments of the two of them just laying there. He idly had one hand repeatedly running along Stiles' spine in what he hoped was a soothing manner.

 

“And if something happens?”

 

Danny sighed and pulled back enough to look at Stiles, stilling his hand on the other teen's back. “Nothing's going to happen, okay? Just... I promise I won't let anything happen.”

 

“You need sleep, too,” countered Stiles with a slight nod. “What if something happens then?”

 

“There's a house full of us, Stiles. Please, just... try to relax and get some sleep? For me?”

 

Stiles worried at his lower lip as he lay there, thinking quietly for several moments before he nodded slightly. “Yeah, I can, uhm... I’ll try.”

 

“Good.” Danny smiled a little and pressed another kiss to Stiles' forehead, making the other teen close his eyes with a very faint sigh.

 

“You keep doing that.” Stiles opened his eyes again when Danny leaned back slightly, just enough to look at the boy underneath his arm. “Why?”

 

Danny shook his head a little with a shrug of his shoulder as he said, “I'm not sure. Feels like the right thing to do.” He smiled faintly when Stiles did, glad to even see a faint smile from the other teen. “I just kind of wish we'd gotten closer under better circumstances.” Stiles laughed slightly at that, nodding as he ducked his head with another slight smile. “I'm glad I’m here, though.” Danny wanted to be there for Stiles, to whatever end. He would do what he could to either fix things, or to help Stiles cope with what was happening. If all he could do was to give Stiles even a few minutes of feeling okay, then it was worth it.

 

“Yeah, I’m glad you're here, too,” replied Stiles, finally looking back to Danny with a smile before allowing the other teen to pull him close again. Stiles closed his eyes when Danny’s lips brushed against the bridge of his nose; and, that was how he fell asleep after several minutes of just laying there, taking in the sound of the other teen breathing and reminding himself that everything was okay.

 

* * *

 

 

“Maybe Danny’s his anchor,” Allison whispered from the doorway, glancing up at Isaac who stood behind her. They had volunteered to go upstairs and check on Stiles the next morning when the other teen and Danny did not come downstairs. The two teens were still asleep in Stiles' room, arms wrapped around one another even as sunlight came streaming in through the curtains. “He's not slept this well in... a long time.”

 

She smiled slightly up at Isaac, who nodded a little and gently squeezed her shoulder. “Maybe we're passing the worst of it,” Isaac offered before nodding back toward the stairs. “C'mon. Let's leave them be.”

 

Allison nodded in response and linked her fingers with Isaac’s between them before they started to walk downstairs, where everyone else was gathering for breakfast that Melissa and Lydia had thrown together. “They're asleep,” Allison announced, letting go of Isaac’s hand to run it along Scott's shoulders as she passed the other teen sitting at the kitchen table across from Derek to go over and help Lydia finish getting out plates and silverware.

 

“That's good, isn't it?” questioned Melissa, flicking the loose tendrils of hair out of her eyes as she turned to look at the others. “I mean, he's not really slept in a long time.”

 

“Maybe...” Derek said with a slight sigh, running a hand over his face a few times before grabbing the cup of coffee sitting out in front of him.

 

Scott nodded slightly, idly tapping his fingers on the table though he easily followed Derek’s train of thought. “Or it's just the calm before the storm,” Scott said quietly, though the still in the kitchen allowed everyone to hear it.

 

The werewolves in the room all turned their attention to the doorway then, mere moments before Danny and Stiles came in, both yawning as Stiles rubbed his eyes absently. “Morning,” Stiles mumbled as he walked over to sit at the table next to Scott.

 

“Breakfast?” questioned Lydia with a smile that brightened a little when Jackson pressed a kiss to her cheek while taking the plates from her over to the table. “Bacon and eggs.”

 

There was a quiet din of conversation after that, everyone moving around the kitchen to get breakfast and drinks. Danny sat next to Stiles at the table, their arms brushing together as they sat there, each one talking to someone else at the table while continuing to take comfort in one another.

 

Derek and everyone else seemed to be subtly watching Stiles as he laughed and smiled while talking quietly with Allison, who sat in-between Stiles and Scott. They spoke amongst themselves, though Danny was sure that only the humans in the room were unable to really hear what they were saying. Lydia smiled slightly to herself, though, leaning against Jackson’s side as they rested back against the kitchen counter. The sense of dread that had been plaguing her since the events at Deaton's clinic all that time ago had dulled to the point of simply being a faint buzz. She no longer was pressured with the urge to scream with each breath taken.

 

Jackson was home; Stiles was looking healthier than ever; Scott, Allison, and Isaac had worked things out between them; Danny and Stiles were closer; and, it seemed to be a new bond between Melissa and Linden than no one commented on. It all seemed to be positive things, and Stiles flourished being surrounded by those that meant the most to him. Even Derek seemed more at ease than Lydia could _ever_ remember seeing him, not that Lydia ever saw that much for him.

 

* * *

 

 

Everyone was in the back yard that evening, laughing and talking as they stood around and Chris Argent manned the grill, making food for all of them. It was awkward, but Chris and Derek were at least attempting to get along. It made Allison smile into her water as she took a drink of her water before she looked back to Lydia, whom she was conversing with while their boys were talking about some game or another that they did not care about. “I'm glad you're feeling better, kid,” Linden said as he wrapped an arm around Stiles' shoulders, tugging him into a one-armed hug while they watched the others. Danny was somewhere inside helping Melissa make homemade french fries.

 

“Yeah,” Stiles said with a heavy sigh and a slight smile, idly twisting his cup in his hands as he leaned against his dad's side. “Not sure what changed, but it's good. I’m good. I dunno... I’ve not felt this good in a while.”

 

Linden glanced over his shoulder to where Danny was laughing at a joke that Melissa told. “Yeah, well, whatever happened, I’m glad for it.”

 

Stiles stayed near the doorway, leaning against the frame throughout the evening as everyone got ready for dinner and the wind started to pick up slightly. He glanced up toward the darkening sky with a faint frown, tugging his hoodie around himself more. The temperature was dropping a little as the night progressed, but that was normal. However, the sinking feeling in Stiles' stomach; that was not normal, and he frowned as he slowly backed into the house with shaking hands, not wanting to draw anyone's attention. They were all just starting to relax again, and it was pointless to worry them over nothing; or so he told himself as he went into the bathroom to splash some water on his face. After drying off his face, Stiles looked up into the mirror.

 

* * *

 

 

“Where's Stiles?” Lydia asked the question under her breath, which surprisingly went unheard by her company, glancing over at the house. There were no lights on inside, but Stiles was not with them as she sworn he had been only moments before. He had been standing there, she was sure of it. At least, she thought she was sure of it. She realized she could not pin-point the last time she had actually _seen_ Stiles as she glanced up at the sky. “It's going to storm.” Once again, her words seemed lost to those around her, and her gaze only moved downward when she felt a hand tap her arm.

 

Lydia frowned as she took the bowl holding some salad from Allison, looking back over toward the darkened house with a sharp intake of breath. “Lydia?” questioned Allison slowly, brow furrowing as she placed a hand on her best friend's arm. “What's wrong?”

 

Lydia wanted to explain, to tell Allison all about the feeling that crept up her spine. There seemed to be no words to explain the extreme sense of anxiety that slowly bubbled up to the surface. She felt as though she was out of breath, and could not shake the feeling that something was very, very wrong. _The calm before the storm_ , Scott had said. Something about that seemed too terrifyingly accurate. The redhead said nothing as she quickly got up from the picnic table, dropping the bowl onto the ground. The clouds continued to roll in, growing darker and heavy with rain as Lydia rushed inside the house, quickly followed by Scott and Danny, leaving everyone sitting confusedly in the rapidly darkening backyard. “Lydia!” Scott insisted, though his friend seemed not to listen as she rushed up the stairs and to Stiles' bedroom where Scott and Danny watched her spin in a few circles, inspecting the bedroom that was completely destroyed.

 

All the photo frames were smashed, and the mirror was shattered. There was glass and blood everywhere. Scott's heart dropped to his stomach as Lydia's terrified expression paled before she opened her mouth and she screamed.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my playlist for this song here: http://8tracks.com/sourwulfur/you-take-all-of-the-pain-away


	8. VIII: Nightime Terrors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thing happen in the dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this one's a bit shorter. Sorry about that! Recently got a promotion at work and it's taking up so much of my time.

“Stiles?” Lydia questioned as she slowly walked into the empty hallway at the school. Jackson was on the other side of the building, seeing if maybe he was in the library or something while Lydia was looking in the main hallway. They were not sure where Stiles was, or if anything was actually wrong. They were all being cautious, though. Lydia tugged her jacket closer around herself as she walked, her heels echoing down the hallway as she walked. Maybe going alone was not a good idea, she thought to herself with a sharp intake of breath. The school never quite felt right to Lydia, and that evening was no exception. Her attention snapped ahead of her quickly at the sound of something clanging farther down the hallway than she could see.

 

Lydia's eyes narrowed as she took a few more steps, only to stop when she heard a locker slam shut behind her. The redhead took a deep breath and slowly turned to look behind her, one hand slipping into her jacket pocket to grab her cell phone. There was nobody in the hallway that she could see, but she felt like she was being watched. Slowly, she lifted her cell phone to her ear, taking a step backward as the line rang. After several moments, Jackson answered the phone call with a slightly irritated sigh. “Jackson?” replied Lydia slowly, quietly in a slightly shaky voice.

 

Jackson froze in his steps there in the library when he heard her speak, blood running cold by how terrified she seemed. “Lydia? What is it?” he replied as he started to walk again, quickly toward the exit.

 

“Somebody else is here.” Her voice was barely above the whisper, but she knew that Jackson had heard her. She spun around quickly to face the other direction after hearing something else in that area. “Jackson, was that you?”

 

Jackson frowned when he got to the door and found that it was locked. No matter how much he shook the bar that served as a handle, the door did not move. Something heavy stood in front of it, and Jackson putting all his weight onto the door was not making it budge. “Lydia, run!”

 

Dropping her phone with a gasp, Lydia took out in a run, squeezing her eyes shut as the world seemed to slow down around her. Blood began to seep out of the lockers and doors, pooling onto the floor as she continued to try to reach the front doors. All at once, Lydia collided with the locked doors; and, she struggled to open it.

 

“Lydia!” she heard someone call, but she did not stop struggling with the door. “Lydia, it's okay. You're okay.”

 

It was as she blinked several times that Lydia realized that she was in Jackson’s arms in the middle of the Stilinski living room. Her breath came in short, uneven pants as she looked around, taking in the sight of the home around her. “It was a dream?” she mumbled, quickly pulling away enough to look around herself fully, brushing her hair back out of her face. “I didn't fall asleep.”

 

“You did,” countered Jackson with a slight frown, nodding a little. Lydia had only fallen asleep after a fruitless search of town did not bring them any closer to figuring out where Stiles had gone. She vaguely remembered sitting down on the couch, closing her eyes as she rested her head on the back. She must have fallen asleep right there without even realizing it.

 

“Oh...” Wetting her lips, Lydia slowly took several steps back over to the couch and slowly sank down to sit there. She remained silent as Jackson walked to her side and sat down next to her; even as he took her hand in his own. A part of her wanted to jerk her hand away, to say something about not needing him; but, she did need him. Stiles was out there somewhere, and none of them were any closer to figuring out what was going on. She was terrified. Lydia squeezed Jackson’s hand to the point of near bruising, resting her head on his shoulder.

 

He did not say anything for a long while, just sat there providing Lydia with a silent comfort that only he was ever known to bring her. It was then that Lydia remembered exactly why she had fallen for him in the first place. “What happened in your dream, Lydia?” questioned Jackson quietly after a while. “You were walking toward the front door.”

 

Her brow furrowed a little as she struggled to remember exactly what the dream had been about. “We were at the school, looking for Stiles,” she explained without lifting her head any. “There was blood, and... I’m not... I’m not sure what was happening, but I was terrified.”

 

“We'll find him, Lydia.” Jackson nodded slightly, his lips brushing against her forehead before she slowly pulled away enough to look at him with a slight nod of her own.

 

“Yeah. Then what?”

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Danny?” his mother said with a slight frown, setting a glass of milk in front of him at the kitchen table as she tried to get his attention. “Daniel!”

 

“Huh? Yeah?” questioned Danny with a slight start as his mother's sharp tone finally got his attention. “Sorry, Mom. I’m just... tired.” He sighed out the last word, smiling thankfully as he grabbed the glass of milk offered to him.

 

“It's winter break. I thought you'd be out with your friends.” Kelia Mahealani said as she watched her son thoughtfully, clutching a glass of milk for herself.

 

Danny shrugged his shoulders as he pushed his untouched drink aside. He was not hungry and did not want anything to drink, either. He wished there was more that he could do. He wanted to find Stiles, but if _Scott_ could not even track the other teen down...

 

It had been three days since Stiles had disappeared, and three days since the accidents started. Unexplainable injuries kept finding their way to the hospital; snapped cables that should not have been, burns and explosions, multi-car pileups. A part of Danny kept hoping it was all just a big coincidence. “Sweetheart, does this have anything to do with that Stilinski kid going missing?” Kelia asked after a moment, placing a hand on Danny's arm.

 

The sheriff had put up fliers and had the entire station on the lookout for any sign of his son. The official report was that Stiles had run away. Only the pack knew the truth; and, Danny almost laughed bitterly at that thought alone. He almost considered himself a part of it, and if the way Allison and Scott were keeping him informed was any indication, he was not alone. “Yeah...” Danny answered honestly after several more moments before actually letting out a laugh, reaching up to run his hand over his face. “Stiles is so annoying and has no sense of personal space. Not everyone's kind about that sort of thing.”

 

“You're worried about him.” There was no question in her words, just a simple statement paired with a faint smile as she squeezed Danny’s arm reassuringly. “I'm sure he'll come back home, Danny.”

 

Danny smiled a little at his mother, grateful for her company and support without asking any more questions. It was not like he could tell her the full story, anyway. “C'mon, Mom. I’ll help with dinner,” Danny said as he stood up, leaning down for a moment to press a kiss to her cheek.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Why are we here?” Lydia asked quietly, wringing her hands together as she looked up to the school before looking to Scott and Jackson. A slight shudder traveled along her spine as she remembered her dream from the night before. It still weighed heavily on her mind.

 

Scott frowned a little as he looked around the empty parking lot. “Someone saw Stiles heading this direction,” Scott informed. “They called in the tip to the sheriff. He asked that we check it out.”

 

They made no moves to head into the school, however. Lydia tugged her jacket tighter around herself as the wind picked up for several long moments, blowing her hair into her face. She tucked it behind an ear as she looked toward the parking lot again to see another car pulling up. The three of them stood there as Allison got out and walked over to the three of them. “Stiles is here?” she questioned, jogging over to Scott's side without moving her gaze from the school looming ahead of them.

 

“Someone called it in.” Scott nodded a little, and smiled faintly at Allison before he walked the short distance to the front doors, gaze dropping to the chain padlocked around the handles.

 

“Does anybody else feel like...” Jackson started to ask, frowning a little as Scott ripped the lock off of the door “We shouldn't be here?”

 

Lydia nodded in agreement with Jackson, but she followed Scott into the school as well. She was hit with a heavy sense of deja vu as she glanced over her shoulder to see Jackson and Allison walking slowly through the shadows in the dark behind her. It made her have to clamp down a strong urge to scream, remembering that night trapped in the school by Peter. It seemed like so long ago, but as if it were only the night before all at the same time. It nearly made Lydia's head spin. “Stiles?” Scott asked, raising his voice so that it echoed off of the lockers and walls.

 

There was silence in response, but they all continued to walk, hoping to find any sign of Stiles. A step forward brought Scott's foot down on a thin wire that none of them noticed until it caused a trap to be released. Scott barely leaned back in time to avoid being impaled by several arrows grouped tightly together, causing his eyes to widen almost comically as he quickly looked to their source to find a crossbow set up close beside a row of lockers, which kept it out of sight unless you stood where Scott was, right in front of it. “Holy shit,” Scott gasped, glancing over to where the others were.

 

Scott took a step backward and straightened up, letting out a heavy breath. That had to be a sign that Stiles was there somewhere, and he was definitely not himself. “Walk carefully,” Scott instructed and he walked forward again.

 

“What is that?” Lydia asked after a few slow steps, her brow furrowing as she tried to make out what was on the wall at the end of the hallway. It shone slightly in the faint light that filled the darkened school. Nobody answered her, and the closer they walked, the more anxious she grew. “Is that...?”

 

“Blood,” Allison finished with a heavy breath. There on the wall, written in blood was what seemed to her, a riddle. It did not make any sense to her, but it was there for a reason. It had to be. “Everyone has it and no one can lose it, what is it?”

 

“Why the hell is there a riddle in _blood_ on the wall?” questioned Jackson with a slight huff of breath.

 

“Doesn't matter,” Scott insisted, making a right turn down the connecting hallway. “Let's just find Stiles.”

 

Jackson nodded stiffly as they kept along their course, stepping over another trip wire. Allison took Lydia's shaking hand with a gentle squeeze and a faint reassuring smile. There was some sort of clicking sound behind them, causing Allison to stop and quickly look behind them. There was nothing there. Nor was there anything ahead of them when a row of lockers suddenly slammed shut. “Stiles!” Scott called before breaking out into a run, ignoring his friends' protests behind him. He had to step around a body lying in a pool of blood around the corner, nearly tripping over his feet at the sight.

 

Scott did not take the time to see who it was. His only goal was to find his best friend. At the end of the hallway was a set of double doors, and when Scott got to them, eh went to push them open. The locked doors caused him to jerk to a stop, looking through the window. His eyes narrowed as he struggled to see someone lurking in the shadows of the treeline outside. As Allison, Lydia, and Jackson finally caught up to him, Stiles stepped out of the shadows with a smirk on his face unlike one any of them had ever seen.

 

Stiles wiggled his fingers in a sarcastic kind of wave while Scott struggled with the door. “Wait, wait, Scott,” Jackson insisted, grabbing one of the other teen's arms to get him to stop. “Do you smell that?”

 

They all froze for a moment, and then Allison realized what the smell seeping throughout the school was. “Gas!” she gasped, tugging on Lydia's hand gently. “We have to find an open door!” All at once, they started to run back down the hallway, and during a glance over his shoulder, Scott watched as Stiles lit a match.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Sheriff,” said Deputy Parrish as he came rushing into Linden's office at the station, tugging his jacket on. “We've got to go!”

 

Linden Stilinski's brow furrowed a little as he sat his pen down on top of the paperwork he needed to file before the end of the night. “What's going on?” questioned Linden, though he stood up and grabbed how own jacket as well.

 

“There's a fire at the school, some say there was an explosion.” Parrish kept up with Linden as they quickly walked through the station toward the front door. “There were some kids at the school.”

 

Linden swore under his breath, pulling his keys out of his pants pocket. “Any injuries?” he questioned while they quickly walked down the steps.

 

“One girl got burnt; I’m not sure how badly. They're taking her to the hospital, though.”

 

“I'll meet you at the school.” Linden nodded and walked over to his cruiser. He immediately turned on the lights and sirens before peeling out and speeding toward the school. When he got there, he found Scott and Jackson standing outside the barricaded area; Scott was pacing as he wrung his hands in front of him while Jackson glared at the ground. “What happened?” questioned Linden as he hurried over to the teens that had practically moved into his home over the previous few days. _Days_ , it suddenly hit Linden as to how little time had passed since all the craziness started happening.

 

“It was Stiles,” Scott hissed, his voice scratchy and raw from smoke that had been inhaled. Even with his werewolf healing, it was not back to normal; unless it was because Scott was not letting himself heal, something Linden was told he had been known to do. “But it _wasn't_ Stiles. His eyes... it wasn't him, I don't...”

 

“Who else was here with you?” Linden frowned a little, looking ahead to where the fire department was struggling to put out the flames that engulfed the building in front of them.

 

“Lydia and Allison,” answered Jackson. “They're on the way to the hospital.”

 

Linden nodded and sighed running a hand over his face before looking around at the scene around them. Some of the detectives were standing around what seemed to be a point of origin for the fire, a burnt out trail that went right up to the school. “I think we should go talk to that boss of yours,” Linden stated after a moment, looking back to Jackson and Scott. They both looked exhausted, ash smears on their faces, but they both nodded, and Scott insisted he would meet Linden there as soon as the sheriff could get away.

 

None of them wanted to think about what all of it meant, what it meant about Stiles; their only thought was, how do they get  _him_ back.

 


	9. IX: Finding Stiles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the hunt for Stiles continues, and everyone waits for news on Allison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, another chapter!

 It was too quiet in the hallway. Danny did not like it. Even with the odd nurse or hospital staff rushing by doing their duties, the hallway was too quiet. Lydia sat across the way from Danny, wringing her hands in her lap as they waited for any news on Allison’s condition. Danny still did not know exactly what had happened; he had just gotten a text from Jackson saying that Allison was hurt and that Lydia should not be alone. So, he had made his way quickly to the hospital, asking no questions along the way. Melissa was with Allison, while everyone else was heading to Deaton's or something like that. Danny was blurry on those details as well.

 

All the while, he found himself worrying about Stiles. He could not help but worry about where the other teen was or how he was faring. Worse was the thought of how Stiles would react after they got him back to himself and he realized what had been done. Danny did not blame him, and he knew the others did not blame Stiles. That did not mean that Stiles would not blame himself.

 

“A shadow,” Lydia suddenly mumbled across the hall, causing Danny to look up at her with a frown and a furrowed brow. She slowly looked up at Danny and wet her lips. “There was a riddle on the wall at the school. 'Everyone has it and no one can lose it, what is it?'. A shadow, the answer's a shadow.”

 

“How does that help us?” questioned Danny, crossing his arms and resting his elbows on his knees.

 

“It's a clue. We know that there's... something that is causing Stiles to be... well, not himself. That's what it is, a shadow.”

 

Danny nodded slowly in vague understanding of Lydia's words. He did not fully understand, but that was okay, he guessed. None of them _really_ did. Lydia pulled out her phone, sending a text to Scott about how she had finally figured out what the riddle was. The text was quick and to the point, though a part of Lydia still wondered if it would truly change anything. Maybe the riddle was just that; a riddle.

 

\---

 

“A shadow,” Scott said without looking up from his phone while they all stood around an examination table there in Deaton's clinic. Everyone looked to Scott as he read and re-read the text from Lydia, even as he finally put the phone away and looked up. “At the school, there was a riddle written on the wall.”

 

“In someone's blood,” input Jackson with a slight nod and a wince. “It said something about having it and not losing it or something.”

 

“It said 'Everyone has it and no one can lose it, what is it?'. Lydia just figured it out.” Scott nodded a little, running his hand over his head several times. “No word on Allison, yet.” Alan Deaton stood at the head of the table, mouth pinched into a firm line as his hands rested on each corner of the table. “What is it?”

 

“A shadow could be many things,” the town veterinarian explained with a slight sigh to his voice, looking around at the group that stood around the room. “There are many things that live in the dark, but...”

 

“But...?” urged Linden Stilinski, brow furrowing as Alan crossed the room to a shelf full of inconspicuous books without titles on the spine.

 

“This one seems to enjoy playing games. That does narrow the field a little.” Alan nodded once as Scott took the book from the man, opening to the table of contents. The teen's eyes darted over the chapter titles as his boss continued speaking. “These are a type of... being that I believe could be responsible for what is happening to Stiles.”

 

“We can help him, though, right?” questioned Scott, turning to the first chapter of the book in order to start reading about _demons_. “Holy god.”

 

Scott's last comment was mumbled to himself as he glanced over the drawings in the book. He closed his eyes after a moment, taking a deep breath as he looked up to Alan Deaton. “I don't know.”

 

The silence in the clinic became deafening then, and Scott frowned as he looked around the room at all of the people who were there to try to help. Stiles was in serious trouble, and none of them knew what to do. It was not uncommon for them to be lost, but usually Stiles was the one to figure out what they needed to know. Scott remained silent as the others started tossing around ideas, thoughts on what it could be from what very little information Deaton could give them. After several minutes, Scott set aside the book still in his hands and quietly made his way toward the front door. Once he pushed it open, he stopped and held it there, looking back to see Derek standing next to the counter that divided the back of the clinic from the waiting room. “I can't just stand here, Derek,” Scott explained. “He's my best friend, and he's out there somewhere.”

 

Derek nodded a little, letting out a heavy sigh. “Go. We'll see if we can't figure this out. Be safe. Let us know if you find him.”

 

Scott nodded with a faint smile then, and he took a moment to steel himself to leave, only to stop again. “Hey, Derek. Thanks.” The two werewolves shared a faint smile and a nod before Scott finally left the clinic, determined to find Stiles, wherever he was.

 

Meanwhile, at the hospital, both Danny and Lydia stood up quickly when Chris Argent came out into the waiting area, looking somber but relieved. “She'll be okay,” Chris announced with a nod only to sit down on one of the chairs while running a hand over his face. “It's not as bad as they had thought. She'll heal with minimal scarring to her legs.”

 

Lydia let out a heavy sigh and nodded as she slowly sat back down in her seat. “That's... that's good, I mean...” she said, smiling faintly when Chris gave her a grateful smile.

 

The man looked between the two teens then, running a hand over his face once again. “You should probably get home. It's late. You don't need to be here.”

 

“Yeah,” agreed Danny, nodding his head before shaking it with a faint smile. “But, we're not going anywhere unless we have to.”

 

Chris smiled thankfully at the two teens before he offered to go get them all coffee from the cafeteria. Danny passed, but Lydia thanked him with a smile and a nod, requesting extra sugar in hers. Once the two teens were alone again, the hallway fell into quiet once more. Danny idly bounced his knee, checking his phone every few moments with hope for some kind of update, while Lydia used her own phone to text the good news to everyone else. “Danny?” Lydia questioned after several minutes, pursing her lips slightly as he looked up at her. “Are you okay?”

 

No. Danny was not okay. There were werewolves, and _demons,_ and the one boy he should want nothing to do with was possibly one if the text from Jackson was anything to go by. Danny remained terrified for Stiles, wondering what was going to happen to the boy and how they were going to get him back. “We shouldn't have to be handling this,” Danny said quietly after several moments, idly wetting his lips as he glanced up to look at Lydia again when his gaze dropped to his phone. “We're just teenagers.”

 

“Scott will find Stiles, Danny,” insisted Lydia with a nod, brushing her red hair back out of her face. “We'll figure this out. We always do.”

 

Danny could not help but laugh bitterly at that, smiling a little as he gestured over to where Lydia sat. “That's my point; you shouldn't _have_ to.”

 

Lydia nodded sadly, idly playing with her own phone. “I assume other towns still have some sort of adult leadership, like Beacon Hills _used_ to. Talia Hale used to protect the town, leaving her kids out of the problems until they were adults. Now, though? Derek’s the adult and we can't let him do this alone.”

 

“Even if it means you could die?”

 

At that, Lydia smiled sadly, nodding though Danny almost missed the gesture. “We might die anyway, Danny. At least this way, we won't just be sitting on our hands when it happens.”

 

\---

 

Danny, Lydia, and Chris were dozing off in Allison’s room when Danny’s cell phone started ringing shrilly in the otherwise quiet room. It made all three of them jump, and Danny groaned as he fished his phone out of his pocket and held it up to his ear with a groggy, “Hello?”

 

“Danny,” it was Scott, sounding slightly out of breath. Danny could practically see the worried expression on the other teen's face, even without Scott being there. “We found Stiles. We're at his pl--”

 

That was all it took to have Danny up out of his seat, mumbling a quick explanation to Lydia and Chris before he was out the door. Lydia rushed after him, apologizing to Chris on her way, and met up with him just outside the hospital. Neither teen said a word as Lydia climbed into Danny’s car with him, and they made their way across town to the Stilinski residence. There were several cars out front and all the shades and curtains were closed in every window of the house. Danny was sure all of the lights were on, though, by the faint glow in every window.

 

Neither he nor Lydia said anything as they rushed into the house, Lydia closing the door after them. “Where is he?” Danny asked, looking around the living room where Linden, Derek, Scott, and Jackson stood. Isaac’s jacket was on one of the chairs, but the curly-haired teen was nowhere in sight.

 

“Downstairs,” answered Linden tiredly, frowning as his eyes darted over to where the basement door stood in the kitchen. He sounded just as broken as he looked and Danny could not help but frown. “Melissa and Isaac are with him.”

 

“Is he okay?” Lydia questioned when she finally found her voice, wringing her hands in front of herself until Jackson took one of them in his own, squeezing gently.

 

Linden nodded a little, running a hand over his face. “Sort of. He's... alive; but, he's not always... _him_.”

 

Danny nodded in understanding, saying nothing else as he made his way toward the door that led to the basement. His heart clenched painfully in his chest at the thought of Stiles having to be kept locked up in the basement, as if he was some kind of threat. It was _Stiles_ ; he was only a danger to himself, after all. Once in the basement, Danny had to pause for a moment to adjust to the dimmer lighting coming from a single bulb off to one side. Melissa and Isaac looked over at him from where they stood talking, the nurse smiling tiredly at the teen. “Hey, Danny,” Melissa said quietly before nodding over to a cot in the corner of the room. “He's over there, asleep now thanks to a sedative from Deaton.”

 

With a heavy sigh, Danny walked over to where Stiles lay, the other teen on his side facing the wall. Danny carefully sat down next to Stiles, resting a hand on his back, the other idly brushing over his arm. Stiles seemed to tense a little in his sleep, before letting out a heavy sigh as he relaxed into the touch, leaning back against Danny’s side as he continued to sleep. He could hear Isaac muttering something about it probably being a bad idea to be so close when they did not know what Stiles would be like when he woke up. Danny did not care, though. He was not going anywhere.

 

It was Scott and Linden in the room with him, his fingers running idly through Stiles' hair when the teen began to stir as the sedatives started to wear off. Scott had a syringe at the ready should it be needed, tensing a little as he watched his best friend. “Danny?” Stiles mumbled in a tired, scratchy voice as he blinked his eyes several times. In an instant, Stiles was sitting up with a gasp, eyes widening as his hands began to shake and the events over the previous few days washed over him. He felt sick to his stomach and like the room was spinning.

 

“Stiles, breathe,” Danny insisted, reaching up to rest a hand on the back of Stiles' neck, rubbing small soothing circles against the skin there. “It's okay, everyone's okay.”

 

“Al-Allison?” He practically choked on the word, wet eyes darting between Danny and where Scott stood across the room.

 

Scott attempted a weak smile, nodding as he said, “She'll be okay. I was just with her.”

 

Stiles nodded several times, his hand moving forward on its own accord to grip the side of Danny’s shirt near his waist as his breaths continued to come in harsh, shaky movements. “What is wrong with me?” Stiles' voice seemed small, shaking with the fear they could all see on his face.

 

Danny wasted no time in scooping Stiles into his arm, hugging him close. A small sob escaped Stiles as he let go of Danny’s shirt to simply wrap both arms around him, offering no protest as he let Danny pull him as close as possible. “I'm sorry. I’m so sorry,” Stiles repeated over and over as he pressed his face into the top of Danny’s shoulder.

 

Linden and Scott waited with baited breath as Danny continued to hold Stiles close to him, fingers running through the broken boy's hair as his lips brushed against Stiles' temple. They were sure that for the time being, Stiles was just that, Stiles. However, none of them were sure how long it would last, what triggered the changes, or just how they would stop it from happening again. Lydia was upstairs with Melissa and Jackson, pouring over different books in order to figure out just that. There was a palpable tension in the air, one that made even Lydia struggle to breathe at times. A part of her could not help but wonder if they would ever figure it out, or if Stiles Stilinski would be their undoing.  


End file.
